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America was in 1873, when he was a member of a company organized by
Mapleson, which included Nilsson, Annie Louise Cary, Capoul, and Maurel.
In America he became very popular, although he was considered in Europe
to have disappointed the high expectations which his early career had
justified. He had a pure tenor voice of richest quality, but owing to
some fault in his method of production it decayed rapidly, and his
declining days were a succession of unfortunate and unsuccessful
attempts to regain his lost powers. As an actor he was melodramatic
rather than powerful, and he was looked upon as a hard working and
extremely zealous artist.

Campanini had a varied and highly interesting experience of the triumphs
and vicissitudes of life. He was the son of a blacksmith, and was
brought up to his father's trade, which he first left to go soldiering
with Garibaldi. He returned after the war, and his vocal powers were
soon discovered by a musician who happened to hear him sing, and secured
for him a course of free tuition in the Parma conservatory. At the age
of twenty-one he commenced his career as an opera singer. He met with
some success, and was engaged to travel in Russia for twenty-four
dollars a month. On his return to Italy, Campanini went to Milan and
took lessons for a year with Lamperti, when he appeared at La Scala in
"Faust."

His repertoire was remarkable, consisting of over eighty operas.
Beginning his career with a salary of eighty cents a night, he rose
until he received, under Mapleson's management, $1,000 a night, and in
one season with Henry E. Abbey he was paid $56,000,--yet he died poor as
well as voiceless. He was simple and unaffected in his manners, and,
like many of his fraternity, careless and improvident, but he had many
friends and with the public was very popular on ample grounds.

Mapleson relates that when he first engaged Campanini to appear in
London, he was one day sitting in his office when a rough-looking
individual in a colored flannel shirt, with no collar, a beard of three
or four days' growth, and a small pot hat, entered and announced that
Campanini had arrived in London. "Are you sure?" exclaimed the
impresario, wondering how it could interest the individual before him.
The strange-looking being burst out laughing, and declared that he was
quite sure, as he was himself Campanini. It was a terrible crusher for
Mapleson to find that his great star was such a rough-looking customer