Italian opera was extremely fashionable in 18th and early 19th century
London and audiences flocked to see
foreign star singers who were considered exotic. Singers such as Madam
Catalani thrilled audiences
and drew huge salaries. The profits
for Catalini's 1806 season were so enormous that
she demanded £7,000 for her 1807 appearances – an astronomical
sum for the time. She settled for £5,000 guineas
and
benefit performances that would earn her another £1,000. It was hardly surprising that
seat prices were high.
Despite its popularity, many people ridiculed Italian opera and it
was heavily satirized in The
Beggar's Opera which
was a huge success on the London stage from 1728.
One critic declared that Italian
opera was like a plate of macaroni – it could be absorbed without
any real effort by the audience. This was certainly untrue of Mozart,
whose masterpieces are considered to be among the greatest of all operas.
Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini, working in the early 19th century also composed memorable works which are still performed today. The plots of their
operas were sometimes taken from famous novels, like Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor which was based on the fashionable best seller
The Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott.
Introduction
