The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-11-29
HoNORs TO MNrE. PATTI
Incidents of the Celebration of the Twenty
Fifth Anniversary of Her Debut.

Incidents of the Celebration of the Twenty.
Fifth Anniversary of Her Debut.
New York World.
| At the close of the last act OF the operA
! OF Martha last evening" the curtain failed to
| fall. The village maiden chorus girls and the
| gallant country SWANS of the male chorus who
! We're gracefully posed for brief final tableau,
looked at first surprised, then amazed, and
| finally Mortified. The vast audience kept its
seat Of course a good many people were
aware that there to be an after-show but
there we're not few persons present who didn't
know what had happened or was about to hap
| pen. Nine. Patti was gracefully embarrassed
She wore the pretty costume allotted to Martha
in the village scenes, ard she put her ungloved
hands over eyes and smiled through the inser-
stices Of her dainty fingers. This unexpected
tableau continued for a moment more and
! tlen there was a noisy rattle of snare drums;
the back scene shifted, and the splendid Seventh
Regiment band, led by Cappa, marched out upon
the stage the villagers making room by crowd
ing to the wings on either side of the stage.
This more or less surprising affair was got
up to celebrate the twenty fifth anniversary of
Adelina PATHS operate debute in New York
10 tell the truth, il was too late, Nine. Patti
having made her hrst appearance at the Acad
envy of Music on the evening of Nov "a 1853
PATHS debute was made in the opera of LUCIA
dl Lammermoor," and it is somewhat surprising
that Colonel Mapleson, with his excellent ideas
concerning the general fitness of things, did not
select Lucia" for last nights performance.
AS the people in the theater caught sight Of
the Seventies crack band. and as the significance
Of the occasion began to dawn upon them a
storm OF applause arose from all portions of the
house. Cappa raised his baton, and the band
played an inspiriting march. The melody OF
this march is said to have originated in the
pretty and musical head of the great diva her
self She composed the air year two ago at
the time benefit (which never occurred was
proposed for Sig Barili 1t was only recently
scored for full band in fact it was scored ex-
pressly for the event of last evening. At tho
conclusion OF the march Patti stepped grace
fully to the front of the stage with eyes directed
to the blushing leader of the band said:
MY dear friends, its twenty five years ago
since | Sang here for the first time. The recep-
ton you have given me to night is tribute /
shall never forget 1t overwhelms me. | am 50
overwhelmed | can say nothing more"
AT these pretty declarations the audience
fairly shrieked with delight Ladies stood up in
their seats ard waved their handkerchiefs and
the army Of young men shouted "BravofH
Nine Patti turned to Scalchi and kissed her upon
the cheek. She then shook hands with Cappa
bowed sweetly to the members of the band,
Kissed her hands to the audience and ran away
to her dressing room. In the mean time Police
Captain Clinchy, whose sympathies with the Gel
ebration of PATHS artstictic triumph we're fully
enlisted, was doing his best with squad of
officers to expedite the clearing of Fourteenth
street, IL, order that room might bemade for
the formation of triumphal procession, which
was to es'2rt the great queen Of song to her
hotel. 1t was q long time. however, despite the
efforts of the police, before the carriages in
waiting for the enormous and fashionable
audience had all picked up their wealthy
loads and clattered away, and the hour
was close upon midnight when Nine Patti. &C.
companied by Sig. Nicolini and her maid came
out Of the Academy and entered a close carriage
drawn by four white horses. A platoon of
mounted police cleared the way for the carriage,
and fifty torch bearers fell in behind the police
The Seventies band headed the procession.
DURING theSA
flying about the street in white-checked ulster
which tapped madly in the breeze, and in a state
of mind which can more easily he imagined than
described. The gallant Colonel had expected
himself to head the procession, mounted on a
properly becoming saddle horse He lranced
upon the sidewalk and frothed at the mouth
but his promised steed failed to arrive, and the
procession started without him. 1t u.s. perhaIm
safe TO venture the assertion that this was the
first time in his eyentful career that the gallant
Colonel was left
Following PATHS coach and four was big
wagon, from which, on the line of march from
the Academy to the Windsor Hotel there was
continuous shooting off of Roman candles. This
wagon also contained iron basins of powder
which, when ignited. made the streets brilliant
with manycolored lights The route was uu
Broadway to Twenty-thrd street. thence to
Madison avenue, to Forty second street, then to
Fifth avenue, and terminated at the Windsor in
the vicinity of which establishment canrons
fired with a noise and rapidity which
quite unnerved the great songstress
Hurrying into the hotel Nine Patti repaired
at once to her apartments, which are upon the
ground floor fronting upon Fifth avenue. The
band took its station under her windows, and
amid the shOutings of an immense multitude in
the street. played a potpourri from ''Traviata,'
the Flor di Primavera' waltz-which is said to
have been composed by Patti ten years ago-the
sextet from Lucia and the national air
America, which brought this somewhat re-
markaDlo occasion to an end. Mime Patti dis
appointed the hungry crowd in the street by
merely bowling her acknowledgements of the
serenade from the window. The multitude had
evidently expected that she would sit on the
window sill and sing verse or two of WAY
Down Upon the Sewanee River" but for some
reason she did not and the crowd, after repeated
cheers, finally dispersed.