ABSTRACT
In 1875, in London's West End, activity was dominated by Italian opera, which was dominated by two men, Frederick Gye and James Mapleson. English opera, since the collapse of the Pyne-Harrison Company in 1864, had had only an intermittent presence and was wholly without momentum and consistent support. Opera performances outside the metropolis in the nineteenth century have attracted scant academic attention, but, by the 1870s, there was plenty of activity, even if it was of variable quality. Touring opera companies had become an established feature of provincial life, first becoming a regular if infrequent occurrence at leading provincial theatres in the 1830s. Gye had been a lessee of the Covent Garden Theatre and manager of the Royal Italian Opera since 1850. Mapleson and Gye each managed Italian opera companies that attracted audiences of superior social status and which gave the performances of the highest albeit sometimes compromised standard available at the time.
