Italo Campanini - London Again

London Again

During his London career, Campanini became especially well known in the roles of Manrico (Il trovatore), Fernando (I puritani), and Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor). At his return for the 1874 season in London, in June he joined a Drury Lane cast in Michael Balfe's posthumous opera Il Talismano (Italian production) with Tietjens and Nilsson, and with the young Giovanni De Reschi in a baritone role (who later became the famous tenor Jean de Reszke). Les Huguenots and La favorita were among other productions of the season. In the 1875 season came the first London Lohengrin (with Emma Albani and Ernesto Nicolini at Covent Garden), soon followed by Mapleson's production at Her Majesty's Theatre in which Campanini, Tietjens, Nilsson and Antonio Galassi (baritone) led a starry cast under the direction of Michael Costa.

The 1878 season was distinguished by the first London production of Bizet's opera Carmen, on June 22. Mapleson had seen it the previous winter at the Brussels Monnaie and decided to transfer it to Her Majesty's. He obtained the American soprano Minnie Hauk for Carmen, who had become famous in the role in Paris; Alwina Valleria portrayed Micaëla, and Del Puente Escamillo, to Campanini's Don José— under Michael Costa's baton. Despite the misgivings of the artists in rehearsal, it was an extremely effective cast among which Campanini himself was conspicuous for his singing and acting, reputedly with superb dramatic power, and it was greeted with a triumphant reception. Klein and the famous singing teacher Manuel Garcia were in the audience.