This week’s illustrations feature three 19^th-century images offering a unique operatic vision from the depths of the ocean and from above its surface. For an 1843 production of the now obscure three-act opera, Le naufrage héroïque du vaisseau, Le Vengeur (The Heroic Sinking of the Ship, The Avenger), this is how extras at the Cirque-Olympique created the illusion of a calm sea …

The calm of the seaL'Illustration, Vol. II (23 December 1843): 261.

… and one turned violent.

The rough sea Ibid.

Though there were many technological advances on the stage during the 19^th-century, by 1866, charting the seas was not one of them.

L’Illustration, Vol. XLVIII (29 September 1866): 205.

RIPM search tip: To browse numerous images of opera scenes in RIPM’s Retrospective Index and Online Archive, fill in the following fields: Keyword = Opera; Type = Illustration. Those records labeled “ROA” are available in full-text.

An amusing feature of the London journal The Musical World is a series of illustrations by the English tenor Charles Lyall. One of his many subjects was English composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. Though he also composed serious choral, ballet, and orchestral works, Sullivan is best known for his fourteen “comic operas” created with librettist W.S. Gilbert. They are often referred to as “Savoy operas,” named after the Savoy Theatre, a London venue built specifically to showcase Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Many of these works, like the Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado, continue to have broad international success. On the 117^th anniversary of his passing, we present these four illustrations.

This depicts Arthur Sullivan after receiving an honorary doctorate from Cambridge University in 1876.

The Musical World, Vol. 54 No. 28 (8 July 1876): 467.

After traveling to Egypt in 1882, there was much speculation that Sullivan was composing a symphony on Egyptian themes. The symphony never materialized, but Lyall fueled the rumor with this illustration.

The Musical World, Vol. 60 No. 14 (8 April 1882): 212.

Sullivan’s conducting was often criticized as being unenergetic and restrained.

The Musical World, Vol. 56 No. 39 (28 September 1878): 626.

He invariably sat in the usual high chair and seemed to keep his eyes always on the score in front of him. His beat was restrained and rather cramped, his baton moving across the top or up and down the sides of the score.

David Bispham, A Quaker Singer’s Recollections (New York, 1920): 174-175.

An illustration entitled, "In Purgatory," depicts Sullivan tormented by Anton Rubinstein at the piano (left), Richard Wagner (upper right), and a variety of devilish gremlins.

The Musical World, Vol. 56 No. 33 (17 August 1878): 530.

A common, humorous trademark of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operas is the patter song, featuring a rapid paced, tongue-twisting text sung by a comic bass or baritone. Here is a famous example: “I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General,” from Act I of the Pirates of Penzance.

Remarkably, Arthur Sullivan’s voice was captured on a very early recording by George Gouraud, Thomas Edison’s representative in England. At a dinner party on 5 October 1888, Sullivan remarks on the newly invented phonogram.

RIPM search tip: To view Charles Lyall’s illustrations, select the Advanced Search option of the Retrospective Index and fill in the following fields: Keyword = Charles Lyall; Periodical = Musical World, The [1836-1891]; Type = Illustration.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to walk the streets of Paris in the 19^th-century? You are strolling along the cobblestone streets, taking in the sights and sounds, when suddenly a song by Aristide Bruant catches your ear. Enticed, you follow the sounds into a dimly-lit room and hear this:

There, in one of Paris’s famous cafés chantants, you cast your eyes around and see a host of eccentric characters—performing, serving, listening, and, of course, drinking.

The bouquet seller Le garçon de café The waiter

Les habitués The regulars

Les consommateurs The customers

Perhaps you would like to hear to another song by Aristide Bruant, and while listening, view these images again.

Musica, Vol. 7 No. 74 (November 1908): 167.

The seven images depicting scenes in cafés chantants were published on 6 December 1851 in L’Illustration, the first illustrated newsweekly in France. Between 1843 and 1899, the journal published over 3,350 engravings of musical interest, offering an expansive visual account of musical activities in 19^th-century Europe. We will continue to feature a number of illustrations from this journal in the weeks ahead.

RIPM search tip: To access 356 related records to cafés chantants, search “café chantant” as a keyboard in both RIPM’s Retrospective Index and e-Library of Music Periodicals.

L’Illustration, Vol. L (5 October 1867): 212, published in Les Gravures Musicales dans L’Illustration, Vol. 1 (Quebec: Presses del’Université Laval, 1982): 603.

A portrait by Adolphe Mouilleron of Rossini, one year before his passing

On today's date in 1868, 149 years ago, Gioachino Rossini—composer of more than three dozen operas, including the ever-popular opera buffa, The Barber of Seville—died in Paris at the age of seventy-six. Though retiring from opera composition in 1829, nearly four decades before his passing, the success of Rossini’s prolific early years made him a widely renowned public figure. This popularity is reflected in the attention given to his death in the musical press, with many journals reporting the news on their front pages. Here are some examples.

L'Art musical, Vol. 8 No. 51 (19 November 1868): 401.

The Musical Standard, Vol. 9 No. 225 (21 November 1868): 197.

Gazzetta musicale di Milano, Vol. 23 No. 47 (22 November 1868): 377.

Neue Berliner Musikzeitung, Vol. 22 No. 47 (18 November 1868): 373.

As eulogies of the composer appeared in the press, the Parisian illustrated newsweekly, L’Illustration, visually documented Rossini’s funeral proceedings. As indicative of his widespread adoration, much of Paris attended.

L’Illustration, Vol. LII (28 November 1868): 340, published in Les Gravures Musicales dans L’Illustration, Vol. 1 (Quebec: Presses de l’Université Laval, 1982): 619.

The sprinkling of holy water in the Church of the Holy Trinity

L’Illustration, Vol. LII (28 November 1868): 341, published in Les Gravures Musicales dans L’Illustration, Vol. 1 (Quebec: Presses de l’Université Laval, 1982): 620.

The funeral procession leaving Church of the Holy Trinity

L’Illustration, Vol. LII (28 November 1868): 344, published in Les Gravures Musicales dans L’Illustration, Vol. 1 (Quebec: Presses de l’Université Laval, 1982): 620.

Lowering of the coffin into the vault of the city, in Père-Lachaise Cemetery

Rossini was sought out and courted, not merely on account of his fame as a composer, but for his wit, his humour, his amiability, and general goodness. With him has departed one of the most remarkable geniuses and one of the kindliest spirits of the nineteenth century.

The Musical World, Vol. 46 No. 47 (21 November 1868): 789.

RIPM search tip: For more on Rossini’s death, first, in both RIPM’s Retrospective Index and e-Library of Music Periodicals, set the span of years in the “Date” field from “1868 to 1869”. This limits one’s search to the year of his death and one year following. Then, search “Rossini” as a keyword.

On today’s date in 1830, eleven-year-old Clara Wieck (later, Clara Schumann) gave her debut solo piano concert at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, sparking a career lasting more than sixty-years as both a distinguished performer and gifted composer.

We celebrate Wieck’s remarkable achievements with a portrait from her younger years published in the Parisian journal, Musica, and two enthusiastic reviews of her debut. The first was published by the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung [AMZ] and the second was a translated and condensed version of the original AMZ report, published in the London journal The Harmonicon.

Musica, Vol. 6 No. 59 (August 1907): 126.

A Young Clara Wieck (later, Clara Schumann)

Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, Vol. 32 No. 46 (17 November 1830): 752-753.

The Harmonicon, Vol. 9 No. 2 (February 1831): 47.

RIPM search tip: A search for “Clara Wieck” in both RIPM’s Retrospective Index and e-Library of Music Periodicals reveals that her name appears in 800 records. A search for “Clara Schumann” … 6,600 records!