OOSTERZEE OPERA . 



93 



present surface of the ocean there was one island known 

 now as the Adirondack Mountains of New York am 

 there was another island known now as the Green 

 Mountains of Vermont and Western Massachusetts. Ii 

 those days it is said that the northern shore of the Guli 

 of St. Lawrence extended as far as the Lac des Chats 

 In that case Lake Ontario was simply a hole in the 

 bottom of a great inland sea which covered also thi 

 Falls of Niagara and probably rose above the presen 

 level of the Great Lakes which lie above the falls. 



The topographical advantages of Lake Ontario have 

 also given it a prominent place in American history. 

 From the earliest settlement of the country this lake 

 was a favorite route of transportation to the West. In 

 the war of 1812 important conflicts were waged on the 

 lake and the adjoining shores. (p. o. M.) 



OOSTERZEE, JAN JAKOB VAN (1817-1882), a 

 Dutch theologian, was born at Rotterdam, April 17, 

 1817. He was educated at the University of Utrecht, 

 and was ordained in 1841. After a few years' service ir 

 village churches he was in 1844 called to the principal 

 church in Rotterdam, where he was noted for nis 

 earnestness and eloquence. In 1862 he was made pro- 

 fessor of theology in the University of Utrecht, but 

 from 1 867 his work was chiefly in New Testament in- 

 troduction and the philosophy of religion. He was a vo- 

 luminous writer and was justly regarded as the leader 

 of Evangelical thought in Holland. In 1871 he de- 

 clined a call to a professorship in the theological semi- 

 nar)' of the Reformed Church in America at New 

 Brunswick, N. J. The fortieth anniversary of his 

 ordination was celebrated in May, 1881, when, although 

 oppressed by physical weakness, he preached a sermon 

 of great power, and afterwards receive 1 testimonials 

 from liis numerous pupils. He died July 29, 1882, at 

 Wii-*baden, Germany, where he had gone for the bene- 

 fit of his health. Among hispublications were a Life 

 o//Miw(3 vok, 1847-51); Chrittology (3 vok . l.x.Vi- 

 61); Theology of the New Testament (1867); Chris- 

 tian Dogmatics (1872);, Ytar of Salvation (2 vok, 

 1X74) ; Motes (1876) ; Practical Theology (1878). 

 Most of these works have been translated into English. 

 Dr. Van Opsterzee contributed to Lange's great work 

 commentaries on the Gospel of Luke, the Pastoral 

 Epistle.-!, and the Epjstlc of James. He left some 

 works in manuscript, including an autobiography. 



OPERA. This article is restricted to the history of 

 operatic performances in the United States. Opera 

 of any kind first made its appearance in this country, 

 it seems, in 1750, when the Beggary Opera, which 

 had gained an immense popularity in England, was 

 produced for the first time on the New \ ork stage. 

 This was soon followed by others. Bickerstaff's Love 

 in a Village was produced in 1768, and his Maid of 

 t/i>< Mill in 1773. Numerous others were given dur- 

 ing the succeeding years, including The Ditenna 

 (1791); JnkJt and Yarlco (1793-4); a number by 

 Dibdin; Children of the Woo<l (1794-5) ; Blue Beard 

 (1801) ; The Review (1X07) ; etc. The singers promi- 

 nent at this time were Benjamin _Carr, an Englishman, 

 who later settled in Philadelphia as a music teacher. 

 Miss Broadhurst. Miss Brett. Mrs. Oldmixon, who 

 made herdWmf here in 1798; Miss Catherine Leesugg, 

 contralto ; Miss Kelly, sister of the Irish composer, 

 and the two eminent English singers, Philips and In- 

 clcdon. During 1813-17 Athix, The Milf.-r and Iff* 

 Mm. Tlif Farmer and Hit Wife, and The Devil's 

 Bridge, all by a new English com poser, Henry Bishop, 

 were produced. In 1 823 John Howard Payne s 

 drama, Clari the Maid of Milan, was produced, with 

 music by Bishop (among the pieces the now famous 

 " Home, Sweet Home' ). German music also began 

 to be heard. In 1825 Webor's Freischutz was given, 

 with great success not entire, however, but "ad- 

 apted ' ' in parts. 



At the same time that these English operas and 

 operettas were l>eing produced in New York, various 

 French companies were performing the lyrical drama 



in their own language in New Orleans, La. The first 

 company of French comedians appeared there in 1791. 

 But although, as Ritter says, "it is safe to presume 

 that light musical farces and operatic pieces were en- 

 acted from time to time, "the first positive date we have 

 is 1810, in which year the Barlier of Seville and Romeo 

 and Juliet were presented. After this, and until the 

 outbreak of the civil war, French opera was given fre- 

 quently there, and the companies also made occasional 

 visits to New York. Several opera-houses were built 

 in succession, the latest completed in 1859. French 

 opera, i. e. , the light operetta (opfra-lxniffe) of Offen- 

 bach, Lecocq, and other composers, first made its 

 appearance in this country in 1867, when La Grande 

 Duchesse was produced and had a run of 158 nights. 

 Maurice Grau did much to popularize this kind of 

 music, introducing to the American public a number 

 of well-known French artists, notably AimSe, Judic, 

 Paola Marie, and Theo. More recently, the English 

 comic opera, as represented by Gilbert and Sullivan's 

 Pinafore, and similar works, has found favor with the 

 American public. 



Italian opera made its first appearance here in 1825. 

 In that year Garcia brought over a good Italian com- 

 pany to New York. 11 Bnrliere was the first opera 

 given, followed by Otello, Romeo e Juh'etta, 11 Turco 

 tn Italia, Semiramide, Don Giovanni, and others. 

 But although Garcia's company included such excellent 

 singers as his own daughter, Mme. Malibran, he had 

 but poor success, and in 1 826 went to Mexico. After 

 this, and until 1832, operas were produced at various 

 times in_ New York, but no work worthy of note was 

 accomplished. In 1832 the tenor singer Montressor 

 brought an Italian opera company to New York. A 

 number of new works were produced, but the venture 

 was a failure. In 1833 an opera-house was built, 

 which was burned in 1839. An Italian company, 

 under the management of Rivafinoli and Da Ponte, 

 gave performances there, and collapsed, as a matter 

 )f course, as did also its successor, organized under 

 the management of Porto and Sacchi. Among the 

 irtists in these two companies were Clementina and 

 [losina Fanti, Louisa Bordogni, Schneider-Maroncelli, 

 ^ignore Fabi, Raviglio, De Rosa, and Porto. Mean- 

 while opera in English continued to make its appear- 

 ance. In 1837 ]Vlme. Caradori- Allen gave operas at 

 :he Park Theatre, and the Seguin troupe at the 

 National Theatre. Two years later another English 

 company appeared in opera, which gave, amongst 

 other works, Beethoven's Fidelio, for the first time 

 n America. The Scguins later had great success 

 it the Park Theatre with the novelty, Balfe's Bo- 

 'ifmian Girl, and Mrs. Anna Bishop and W. H. 

 iteeves appeared in 1847. In 1843 a certain Palmo 

 >uilt a new opera-house in Chambers street, which 

 was opened the following year. Italian opera was 

 given there for four years, after which the place was 

 abandoned as being too small. At this time a move- 

 nent had been set on foot to have an opera-house 

 milt in a more convenient location. The enterprise 

 was placed on a firm basis for five years at least, by 

 iubscriptions to support Italian opera for 75 nights a 

 /ear during that period. The Astor Place Opera- 

 louse was opened in 1847 with Verdi's Ernani. The 

 )lace came under the management of Salvatore Patti, 

 rho was succeeded by Edward Fry in 1848. Both had 

 11 success, and Fry in turn was succeeded by his imisi- 

 al director, Max Maretzek. The latter gave Italian 

 >pera there for several years, producing a number of 

 new operas, but the final result was the same, and the 

 )lace was abandoned at the end of the five years. In 

 pite of all the failures that had been witnessed, the 

 lope of placing Italian opera on a firmer footing in this 

 ountry was not abandoned. In 1 853 the erection of 

 he Academy of Music was begun, and it was opened 

 he following year, Grisi and Mario among the singers 

 rho a_ppeared. Maretzek gave opera here, as did also 

 Maurice Strakosch (associated with Ullmann), under 



