2-970-043 - /Heritage Images

Grand Fete and Theatrical Representation at the Hotel de Ville, Paris, in honour of the Peace Plenipotentiaries, 1856. '...a brilliant spectacle, from 1500 to 2000 persons being present.... In the Salle du Spectacle the central seats were assigned exclusively to ladies...The orchestra was hidden by a mass of camellias. The play...was the "Concert a la Cour," [as] it admitted the introduction of singers, musical performers, and ballet-dancers...Alboni sang enchantirgly, Rosati danced exquisitely, and M. Alard fascinated the audience with that king of instruments - the violin. M. Bottesini appeared with his violoncello, which the master, as he ran his hands up and down the strings, kept tickling as it were into the...expression of the most melodious sighs. The sprightly Caroline Duprez sang an appropriate song in the four languages of the Congress, a polyglot composition much applauded'. From "Illustrated London News", 1856.