ceeded
delight, for when in the third act she threw all her vocal and
dramatic power into the melodious wailing of "_Ah non credea_," with
its brilliant sequel, "_Ah non giunge_," the enthusiasm of the
audience forgot all restriction, and burst into a spontaneous shout
of applause, the pent-up fervor of the assembly exploding in a ringing
cheer of acclamation rarely heard within the walls of the Royal
Italian Opera House. The heroine of the evening was Adelina Patti, who
thenceforward became the idol of the musical world. When I left the
theatre that evening, I became conscious that a course of fascination
had commenced of a most unwonted nature; one that neither time nor
change has modified, but which three decades have served only to
enhance and intensify.

At the conclusion of the performance, Mr. Gye went on to the stage
full of the excitement which prevailed in the theatre, and he
immediately concluded an engagement with Mlle. Patti on the terms
which had been previously agreed between them; these being that Mlle.
Patti was to receive at the rate of _L_150 a month for three years,
appearing twice each week during the season, or at the rate of about
_L_17 for each performance. Mr. Gye also offered her the sum of _L_200
if she would consent to sing exclusively at Covent Garden.

Patti repeated her performance of Amina eight times during the season,
and subsequently confirmed her success by her assumption of Lucia,
Violetta, Zerlina, Martha, and Rosina.

Having met with such unprecedented success throughout the London
season, Mlle. Patti was offered an engagement to sing at the Italian
Opera in Paris, where unusual curiosity was awakened concerning her.
Everyone is aware that the Parisians do not admit an artist to be a
celebrity until they have themselves acknowledged it. At Paris, after
the first act, the sensation was indescribable, musicians, ministers,
poets, and fashionable beauties all concurring in the general chorus
of acclamation; while the genial Auber, the composer of so many
delightful operas, and one of the greatest authorities, by his
experience and judgment, on all musical matters, was so enchanted that
he declared she had made him young again, and for several days he
could scarcely talk on any other subject but Adelina Patti and opera.
The conquest she had achieved with the English public was thus
triumphantly ratified by the exacting and critical members of musical
society in Paris.

Adele Juan