Diary of Caroline Powys, 9 March 1808

urn:iso:std:iso:639:ed-3:eng

366–367

text excerpt

I went to Ranzini s concert to hear Madame Catalani, but was disappointed with numbers, as she came from the opera in London all night, caught a violent cold and sore throat; above a thousand had been in the concert-room hours, some they said by three o clock; we did not go till six, and had not a very good seat. At eight, when it was to begin, Ranzini came on the platform to say how shock’d Madame Catalani was at disappointing the company, but she was really too ill to sing the songs given out, but she would try some others. We began to fear a riot, as some hisses began. However, Madame came, and I daresay did what she was able, but was quite unable to sing, and retired with many apologies. The next morning handbills were given out that she could not sing that night as she had intended, as there was to have been two, but that she would come down next Wednesday to Ranzini s concert, and to those who had been on the evening before she would sing on the next Thursday morning, so every one seem’d satisfied, till the Tuesday morning following, when bills were again circulated that she was too ill to come down; so here it finally ended, except to poor Ranzini, who behaved uncommonly generous, desiring every one who was at the first concert, or those who had tickets for the second, to call at the rooms, where each would be returned their half-guinea.

excerpt from 'Diary of Caroline Powys, 9 March 1808' pp. 366–367 (258 words)

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