Benjamin Lumley in Her Majesty's Theatre - 18 May, 1843

from Reminiscences of the Opera, page 76:

Another event deserves mention, viz., the first appearance, in England, of Sivori, the violinist at Her Majesty's Theatre, on the 18th May of this year. Much credit was due, I had heard, to the talent of this celebrated pupil of the great Paganini, and at once I decided to bring him to England. He was received by the opera-frequenters with admiration, even with enthusiasm. The instrument he played upon was the magic violin bequeathed to him by his dying master, and the fanciful legends of Italy having set afloat a notion that the soul of Paganini had taken refuge in the instrument, the popular ear, charmed by the young artist, listened credulously to the fable. Even in England the press declared that "Sivori was not Sivori — it was Paganini restored to another generation in a renovated and younger form."

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cite as

Benjamin Lumley, Reminiscences of the Opera (London, 1864), p. 76. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1438614732055 accessed: 28 March, 2024

location of experience: Her Majesty's Theatre

Listeners

Benjamin Lumley
Opera manager, Solicitor
1811-1875

Listening to

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Unspecified violin music performed by Camillo Sivori

Experience Information

Date/Time 18 May, 1843
Medium live
Listening Environment in the company of others, indoors, in public

Originally submitted by sp327 on Mon, 03 Aug 2015 16:12:12 +0100
Approved on Sun, 24 Apr 2016 15:39:19 +0100