Garcia the Centenarian And His Times Part 9

"And he would have done it, too," she would add, "so I played the part."

Manuel himself was ever a phenomenally quick "study" in the memorising of any fresh _role_. Short though the periods would be which were allowed in the ordinary way for learning a work, they were for him a great deal too long. He was able to commit to memory the whole of his part in two or three days, while at the end of ten he had picked up the parts of all the other singers as well, so that if necessary he was perfectly able to prompt them during the final rehearsals.

His father used to take advantage of this extraordinary memory, and, when feeling indisposed, would say, "You must go on, and take my part to-night." The son would proceed to do so, and get through the performance successfully, singing the tenor _role_, in which he would alter the high pa.s.sages to suit his own voice.

All this hard work, however, was not accomplished without leaving its mark, and in a few months he began to feel the effects of the strain involved in this perpetual rehearsing and singing not only of his own baritone parts but on occasions of the tenor music. His father was a hard task-master, and the son, though he had a fine voice, found the work involved by an operatic career too hard for his physical resources.

At last things reached a point at which, as he once told me, he went through every successive performance in a state of fear lest his voice should leave him suddenly when he was on the stage.

His father and mother laughed at this feeling as absurd, and told him that he must study for a time in Italy, and then make his _debut_ there, as they had set their hearts on it. Partly, therefore, to please them, partly, it may be, to comfort and a.s.sist Maria, of whose intention to set out for Paris in the September he must have been well aware, Manuel Garcia left his parents to continue their season in Mexico, and in the early autumn of 1827 set out for Europe alone.

CHAPTER VII.

OPERATIC CAREER ABANDONED.

(1828-1830.)

Manuel Garcia, in the January of 1828, was present at the operatic _debut_ of his sister, Maria Malibran, in Paris, the details of which he once gave to me. On another occasion he stated most distinctly that he left his parents in Mexico about the middle of their stay, set out for Paris, and, arriving there not long after his sister, remained with her till after her _debut_. He added that during this period she continued her vocal studies under his tuition.

Under these circ.u.mstances one may safely a.s.sume that he arrived in the French capital either in October or in the early part of November, 1827.

With regard to Mme. Malibran's _debut_, the following is the story as he gave it. I related the episode in 'Antoinette Sterling and Other Celebrities,' from which I am enabled to quote here and elsewhere in the present memoir by courtesy of the publishers, Messrs Hutchinson.

Rossini was director both of the Theatre Italien and of the Grand Opera House, where French alone was performed. He was a great friend of both Maria Malibran and her brother, and frequently came to visit them at their house. Moreover, he heard the young contralto sing many times at social functions, often indeed himself accompanying her at the piano.

Yet, though perfectly aware what a splendid singer she was, the composer never made her any offer to appear under either of the two managements.

At last her opportunity of making an operatic _debut_ in Paris arrived, but from quite another source. Galli, a famous ba.s.so of that time, who was having a benefit at the Italian Opera House, called one day and told her that he would put on "Semiramide" if she would like to sing the t.i.tle part. After consulting with Manuel, she decided to accept the offer.

Of the performance itself one of the Paris journals gives a graphic account:--

"The singer, at her entrance, was greeted with warm applause. Her commanding figure and the regularity of her features bespoke the favour of the public. The n.o.ble and dignified manner in which she gave the first phrase, 'Fra tanti regi e popoli,' justified the reception she had obtained, but the difficult phrase, 'Frema il empio,' proved a stumbling-block which she could not surmount. Alarmed by this check, she did not attempt the difficult pa.s.sage in the 'da capo,' but, dropping her voice, terminated the pa.s.sage without effect, and made her exit, leaving the audience in doubt and dissatisfaction. The prodigious talent displayed by Pisaroni in the subsequent scenes gave occasion to comparisons by no means favourable to Mme. Malibran. On her reentrance she was coldly received; but she soon succeeded in winning the public to her favour. In the andante to the air, 'Bel raggio lusinghier,' the young singer threw out such powers, and displayed a voice so full and beautiful, that the former coldness gave way to applause. Encouraged by this, she hazarded the greatest difficulties of execution, and appeared so inspired by her success that her courage now became temerity."

From that night she was the idol of the French public.

Another French critic writes, "If Maria Malibran must yield the palm to Pasta in point of acting, yet she possesses a decided superiority in respect to song."

"Since that time," remarks Mr Hogarth, "the superiority of Malibran to Pasta in song became more and more evident; while in respect to acting, though no performer has ever approached Pasta in her own peculiar walk of terrible grandeur, yet none has ever surpa.s.sed Maria Malibran in intelligence, originality, vivacity, feeling, and those 'tender strokes of art' which at once reach the heart of every spectator. Her versatility was wonderful. Pasta, it has been truly said, is a Siddons: Malibran is a Garrick."

On the morning following the Parisian _debut_ a note came asking Senor Garcia to go round to Rossini's rooms. Upon doing so he found him in a tremendous state of excitement, and prepared to give Maria Malibran a four years' exclusive engagement, at the rate of more than a hundred thousand francs per annum, if she would bind herself to sing exclusively at the Grand Opera House during that period.

The terms were immense for those days. In spite of this, after careful consideration, the contralto decided to refuse them, feeling that it would be unwise to abandon Italian and confine herself to French for so long a time. She _did_, however, appear for him in a few operas, at enormous fees, with, if possible, greater success than before, at the Theatre Italien during April and May.

Now it seemed very extraordinary to Senor Garcia and to his sister that Rossini should have heard her sing again and again in society without even mentioning such a thing as engaging her, and yet, after hearing her at the Opera House in music which she had sung before him on so many occasions, he should at once make her a magnificent offer for a term of years. Why was it? They could not understand it at all, and accordingly asked one day for the explanation.

"It is true," answered Rossini, "that I knew Maria Malibran was a brilliant singer from listening to her at private houses. But I had never heard her in a big place before a large audience. Consequently I felt that I could not make her a definite offer which would at all gauge her true value. Either I should be offering her less than she was worth, and by this be doing _her_ an injustice, or I should be offering her more than she was worth, and so be doing _myself_ an injustice. But now that I have heard her sing in front of an audience, and have observed what effect they mutually had each on the other, I can offer the very largest sum which her singing is intrinsically worth. That is the explanation of what I have done."

After remaining for a time to see his sister successfully started on her Parisian career, Manuel Garcia set out for Italy, and took up his residence there for some months. During this period he made the acquaintance of Lablache, whose voice was of the most marvellous power.

There is a story which the maestro used to tell of the ba.s.so and Carl Weber which ill.u.s.trates this fact.

Lablache was originally a double-ba.s.s player, and his first appearance in opera as a singer came about through a happy chance. A celebrated vocalist was suddenly indisposed just before the performance one night, and Lablache was induced to take his place and attempt the _role_. His rendering of the character was entirely successful, and he abandoned his old career for this new one.

A few months afterwards Weber, who had known his ma.s.sive figure in the orchestra, heard him sing in opera. After listening to the enormous voice and magnificent ba.s.so notes, the composer exclaimed, "Mein Gott!

he is still a double-ba.s.s."

The size of Lablache's voice aroused the emulation of Garcia, who, as his sister Mme. Viardot puts it, proceeded to play the part of the frog that wanted to make itself as big as a bull. In trying to imitate this Gulliver of _ba.s.si_ he undoubtedly did further injury to his voice, which had already been much overstrained by the hard usage it had received in Mexico.

When, therefore, about the beginning of 1829, he made a public appearance at Naples, as his parents had persuaded him to do, he did not come through the ordeal with much success. "Il debuta a Naples, je crois," says Mme. Viardot, "et il eut ce qu'il desirait, un four noir."

The next day Manuel collected copies of the newspaper critiques, which were unanimous in recommending him to tempt Fate no more on the stage, but to abandon the lyric career for which he was unfitted. These articles he dispatched to his father with a letter in which he wrote: "You see from these notices that I can never hope to become an operatic artiste." ("Je ne puis etre artiste.") "From now onward I am going to devote myself to the occupation which I love, and for which I believe I was born." With this letter he definitely abandoned the operatic calling.

He then made his way back to France, and there joined his parents, who had arrived from Mexico in the late autumn of 1828.

During the period of the elder Garcia's stay in Mexico, political events occurred which were the very reverse of propitious to any musical venture.

In 1828 the candidates for the Presidency were Generals Pedraza and Guerrero. On the election of the former the opposite party took up arms, and a b.l.o.o.d.y contest ensued, which terminated in the downfall of Pedraza's Government and in his flight from the country on January 4, 1829. The months which followed were full of turmoil, and at last in March it became necessary for all Spaniards to leave.

Owing to this state of affairs the elder Garcia, after some eighteen months of hard work and considerable financial success, was obliged to bring his Mexican season to a hasty conclusion. He accordingly prepared at once to journey to the coast with the 6000 which he had made during his stay in America.

Owing to the disturbances he had the greatest difficulty in obtaining the necessary pa.s.sports. At last, however, he succeeded, and set off for Vera Cruz with his wife and younger daughter Pauline, who was now seven years old.

He was provided with a guard of soldiers, which, however, proved to be too weak, or, what is far more likely, too faithless, to protect his goods. At a place called Tepeyagualo, in the valley of Rio Frio, the convoy was attacked by brigands, and he himself obliged to lie flat on his face while his baggage was plundered of a thousand ounces of gold--the savings of two and a half years' work. Not only this, but the men seized everything else which was of value: in fact, he was left with practically nothing save a small sum of money which he was carrying in a belt around his body.

After this disastrous experience Garcia and his family made their way to the coast, embarked at Vera Cruz, and finally arrived in Paris, without any financial result to show for all the time they had spent in America.

The blow of losing 6000 in cash and all his properties affected him less than most men: his disregard for money and his love of work for its own sake were a byword among his friends.

Upon his return the elder Garcia made a few appearances at the Theatre Italien in "Don Giovanni" and "Il Barbiere." His voice, however, was no longer what it had been. He was warmly welcomed by his old admirers; but these quickly perceived that his travels and misfortune, if not the advance of age, had much impaired his powers. He himself realised the change, and almost at once retired from the operatic stage, being in his fifty-fifth year, and devoted himself exclusively to the teaching which he had already started in Paris before leaving for America.

Among those who studied under him one may recall Mmes. Ruiz-Garcia, Rimbault, Favelli, and the Countess Merlin, who in later years was to publish a life of Maria Malibran, which can be looked on as little more than a fairy romance woven round a fascinating personality. Then there was Mme. Meric-Lalande, a brilliant stage soprano, who came to him as a natural singer of light opera, and after receiving some stricter training from the old teacher, was highly successful in Vienna, Paris, and the princ.i.p.al opera houses of Italy.

Of the men, Jean Geraldy is deserving of mention, since he afterwards became well known both as vocalist in the operas of Rossini and as a composer of many popular songs and operettas.

But of all the elder Garcia's pupils the tenor Nourrit was by far the greatest. It was for him that Rossini wrote the part of Arnold in "William Tell," and Meyerbeer the parts of Roberto in "Robert le Diable"

and of Raoul in "The Huguenots"; while he also created the parts of Masaniello, and of Eleazar in Halevy's "La Juive."

Nourrit commenced his studies before the elder Garcia set out on the American trip. When the teacher returned in 1829, his old pupil, who had now been leading tenor at the opera for four years, came to resume lessons. Of these Mme. Pauline Viardot still has a strong recollection.

She was then a child not yet ten years old, but, in spite of this fact, used to a.s.sist her father by playing for him when he gave his lessons.

When, therefore, among the others, Adolph Nourrit came to the house, she often used to accompany him at the piano at the lessons,--an experience which she still recalls with the greatest delight.

Of her many memories of that time none is more interesting than the fact that she read off with Nourrit the first melodies of Schubert which arrived in Paris, and of which theirs was the only copy in the city.

Nourrit's end was a sad one. After having been leading tenor for many years, he resigned eventually because Duprez was a.s.sociated with him for the interpretation of the princ.i.p.al _roles_; and this fancied slight so preyed on his spirits that at last, after singing at a benefit concert at Naples, he threw himself out of the window and perished miserably.

While Garcia _pere_ was giving lessons to his pupils, he would compose at the side of the piano delightful airs which, in the moments when the pupils were resting their voices, he would give his daughter to play at the piano. Moreover, he used to write for the use of his little Pauline many excellent studies; for she had been gently using her voice under his guidance since she had been but four years old. One of these studies commenced with a shake on the words "Aspri rimorsi atroci; figli del fallo mio." And while uttering the phrase he would make her throw herself completely into the feeling of the words, as well as into the vocal rendering of the music.

As a teacher the elder Garcia was strict and vigorous, a man of rugged discipline, so that the musical training which he gave his children was of the most rigid and thoroughgoing type.