ABSTRACT
This chapter examines more closely the significant—and for the most part unexplored—influence exerted by early nineteenth-century vocal stars on the development of musical culture in the United States. Jane Shirreff, an English soprano with a full-toned and powerful voice that was “clear, full, and bird-like,” was a star of Covent Garden and Drury Lane. Shirreff and Wilson—and the bass Edward Sequin, who also sang with them for a time—were lured from London by an offer in 1838 from the National Theatre in New York. Despite the pleasurable sight-seeing activities in which the travellers engaged, the principal focus of each tour was the performance of concerts by Wilson and Shirreff. Whether musical tastes in Savannah were different from those around the country is unknown. In no other cities where Shirreff and Wilson gave concerts were such sentiments expressed in print; in no other cities, however, did they offer such unusual concert fare.
