Roméo et Juliette Was 20th, Last Premiere in Met Opera's First Season

Summary: Roméo et Juliette opened Wednesday, April 16, 1884, as the 20th and final premiere in Met Opera's first season, 1883-1884.

Polish coloratura soprano Marcella Sembrich originated the Met Opera role of Juliette in the opera house's April 16, 1884, premiere of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette; 1888 portrait of Marcella Sembrich, age 30, painted in Dresden, Germany, by German painter and graphic artist Paul Friedrich Meyerheim (July 13, 1842-Sept. 14, 1915): The Sembrich @TheSembrich, via Facebook Oct. 25, 2019

Roméo et Juliette premiered Wednesday, April 16, 1884, as the 20th and final opera in Met Opera's first season, 1883-1884.

The five-act tragic opera by French composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893) received one performance, sung in Italian, in Met Opera's first season. The premiere and only performance of Roméo et Juliette was staged at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Auguste Vianesi (Nov. 2, 1837-Nov. 4, 1908) conducted the first season's solitary performance of Roméo et Juliette. The French-naturalized, northwestern Italy-born conductor had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Oct. 22, 1883, in the first season's inaugural premiere, Faust by French composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893).

Italo Campanini (June 30, 1845-Nov. 14, 1896) sang the title role of Roméo Montague. The Italian operatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Oct. 22, 1883, in the title role in the opening season's inaugural premiere, Gounod's Faust.

Marcella Sembrich (Feb. 15, 1858-Jan. 11, 1935) sang the title role of Juliette Capulet. The Polish coloratura soprano had made her Met Opera debut Wednesday, Oct. 24, 1883, in the title role in Met Opera's second premiere, Lucia di Lammermoor by Italian opera composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848).

Giovanni Mirabella appeared as Frère Laurent, who performs the marriage ceremony for Roméo et Juliette. The Florentine bass had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Oct. 29, 1883, as Giorgio in the first season's fourth premiere, I Puritani by 19th century Italian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini (Nov. 3, 1801-Sept. 23, 1835).

Louise Lablache (1855?-1926) sang the trouser role of Stéphano, Roméo's page. The French mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Monday, Oct. 22, 1883, as Marthe in the opera house's opening night performance of Gounod's Faust. Louise Lablache's Met Opera career covered the opera house's first season. The Metropolitan Opera Archives Database (MetOpera Database) noted Louise Lablache's appearance in Roméo et Juliette as her last Met Opera performance.

Giuseppe Del Puente (Jan. 30, 1841-May 25, 1900) appeared as Roméo's friend, Mercutio. The Italian baritone had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Oct. 22, 1883, as Valentin in the opening season's opening premiere, Gounod's Faust.

Amadeo Grazzi appeared as Benvolio, Montague's nephew. He had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Oct. 24, 1883, as Normanno in the opening season's second premiere, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

Emilie Deméric-Lablache (Oct. 6, 1830-?), credited as Emily Lablache, performed as Gertrude, Juliette's nurse. The French mezzo-sopano-contralto, mother of Louise Lablache, had made her Met Opera debut Monday, Nov. 5, 1883, as Flora in the first season's sixth premiere, La Traviata by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

Achille Augier sang the bass role of Count Capulet, Juliette's father. He had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Oct. 24, 1883, as Raimondo in the first season's second premiere, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. Achille Augier's Met Opera career lasted one season. The MetOpera Database noted Achille Augier's appearance in Roméo et Juliette as his last Met Opera performance.

Nicola Stagi sang Tybalt, Lady Capulet's nephew, who was matching Juliette with Count Pâris. The Italian tenor had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Nov. 19, 1883, as Raimbaut in the first season's 10th premiere, Robert le Diable by German Jewish opera composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (Sept. 5, 1791-May 2, 1864).

Ludovico Contini appeared in the baritone role of Count Pâris. He had made his Met Opera debut Monday, Oct. 22, 1883, as Wagner in the first season's first premiere, Gounod's Faust.

Baldassare Corsini sang the baritone role of Capulet's servant, Grégorio. He had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Oct. 31, 1883, as Laërte in the first season's fifth premiere, Meyerbeer's Mignon.

Pietro Mascotti performed the bass role of the Duke of Verona, in whose dukedom the Capulet and Montague feud escalates into a bloody vendetta. He had made his MetOpera debut as the Herald in the first season's second performance of Meyerbeer's Le Prophète.

Roméo et Juliette was presented as the 20th and final premiere of the Metropolitan Opera's first season, 1883-1884. The tragic opera numbered as the second of two Gounod operas staged in Met Opera's first season. Faust had opened Monday, Oct. 22, 1883, as the first of 20 premieres in the opera house's first season lineup.

The takeaways for Met Opera's premiere of Roméo et Juliette are that the tragic opera was staged as the 20th and last premiere in Met Opera's first season, 1883-1884; that only one performance was offered; and that Polish coloratura soprano Marcella Sembrich originated the opera house's role of Juliette.

French mezzo-soprano Louise Lablache's appearance in the trouser role of Stéphano in the Metropolitan Opera's first season premiere of Roméo et Juliette marked her last Met Opera performance: Josep Maria Rebés @JMRebes, via Twitter Dec. 31, 2020

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

1888 portrait of Marcella Sembrich, age 30, painted in Dresden, Germany, by German painter and graphic artist Paul Friedrich Meyerheim (July 13, 1842-Sept. 14, 1915): The Semrich @TheSembrich, via Facebook Oct. 25, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/TheSembrich/photos/a.452747911457405/2455144771217699/

French mezzo-soprano Louise Lablache's appearance in the trouser role of Stéphano in the Metropolitan Opera's first season premiere of Roméo et Juliette marked her last Met Opera performance: Josep Maria Rebés @JMRebes, via Twitter Dec. 31, 2020, @ https://twitter.com/JMRebes/status/1344691412089131009

For further information:

"Debut: Baldassare Corsini." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID:1050 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Mignon {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/31/1883.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=1050

"Debut: Emily Lablache, Giuseppe Barberis, Malvina Cavalazzi." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID:1080 Metropolitan Opera Premiere La Traviata {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/5/1883.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=1080

"Debut: Giovanni Mirabella, Ida Corani." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 1040 Metropolitan Opera Premiere I Puritani {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/29/1883.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=1040

"Debut: Nicola Stagi." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 1180 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Robert le Diable {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/19/1883.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=1180

"Debut: Pietro Mascotti." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 2170 Le Prophète {2} Boston Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts: 03/7/1884.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=2170

"Debuts: Italo Campanini, Christine Nilsson, Franco Novara, Giuseppe Del Puente, Sofia Scalchi, Louise Lablache, Ludovico Contini, Auguste Vianesi, Mr. Corani, Mr. Abbiati, Charles Fox, Jr., William Schaeffer, Gaspar Maeder, Mr. Thompson, D. Ascoli, Henry Dazian." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID:1000 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Faust {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/22/1883. Metropolitan Opera Premiere Opening Night {1}.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=1000

"Debuts: Marcella Sembrich, Giuseppe Kaschmann, Achille Augier, Amadeo Grazzi, Imogene Forti, Vincenzo Fornaris." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 1010 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Lucia di Lammermoor {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/24/1883.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=1010

Josep Maria Rebés @JMRebes. "Fa uns dies prometia més notícies sobre la família Lablache. Ara arriben en forma de nou article de la @Viquipedia: Louise Lablache, mezzo que va actuar al Liceu a la temporada 1885. Últim article meu d'aquest 2020, dedicat, com gairebé sempre, a una dona https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_La . . ." Twitter. Dec. 31, 2020.
Available @ https://twitter.com/JMRebes/status/1344691412089131009

Marriner, Derdriu. "Faust Opened Oct. 22, 1883, as First Opera in Met Opera’s First Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sept. 21, 2020."
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/10/faust-opened-oct-22-1883-as-first-opera.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Metropolitan Opera Premiered 20 Operas During Opening Season 1883-1884." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sept. 14, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/10/metropolitan-opera-premiered-20-operas.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Roméo et Juliette Is the Jan. 21, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast." Earth and Space News. Monday, Jan. 16, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/romeo-et-juliette-is-jan-21-2017.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Roméo et Juliette Is May 5, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast." Earth and Space News. Monday, April 30, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/04/romeo-et-juliette-is-may-5-2018-met.html

"Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Roméo et Juliette.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 2430 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Roméo et Juliette {1} Academy of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 04/16/1884.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=2430

Rous, Samuel Holland. The Victrola Book of the Opera: Stories of One Hundred and Twenty Operas With Seven-Hundred Illustrations and Descriptions of Twelve-Hundred Victor Opera Records. Fourth revised edition. Camden NJ: Victor Talking Machine Company, 1917.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/victrolabookofop00vict

The Sembrich @TheSembrich. "Updated their profile picture." Facebook. October 25, 2019
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/TheSembrich/photos/a.452747911457405/2455144771217699/