oken and
diversified by vocal and other solos between the movements.

New England possessed several musical societies in 1821, by which
performances of oratorio were given. The Sacred Music Society was
formed in New York City in 1823 and lasted till 1849. So it may easily
be seen that, as the population increased, musical societies were soon
established.

Theatres, while not strictly part of the musical life of the country,
can hardly be separated from it because they were the home of ballad
operas, and all musical stage representations. They were already in
existence in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia before the beginning of
the nineteenth century, but we find in 1807, the opening of "Le Theatre
St. Philippe" in New Orleans with Mehul's one-act opera, "Une Folie."
This theatre being burned in 1817, a new one, "Le Theatre d'Orleans,"
was built and opened in the following year. This theatre was the finest
in the country at that time and was the home of opera for a number of
years. The record of opera in New Orleans is incomplete, but it is well
known that New Orleans was the home of French opera in America long
before it became popular in other parts of the country.

But America was gradually edging up to the time of grand opera. Singers
were arriving from abroad and brought with them their ambitions. We find
that an English version of Rossini's opera, "Il Barbiere," was given at
the Park Theatre, New York City, in 1819, with Miss Leesugg as Rosina,
and in 1823 an English version of Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro" was
presented. Again in the early part of 1825, Weber's opera "Der
Freyschuetz" was presented, in English, at the Park Theatre, with Miss
Kelly and Mrs. de Luce in the leading parts. Similar performances
followed in other cities, and the country was thus gradually prepared
for the real thing,--grand opera,--in its native language.

While the record of items during the period 1800 to 1825 is not very
long it still shows considerable progress. The people grew up in a
country where there was little musical cultivation, where there were
small communities, and where the struggle for existence had been the
first consideration. They responded warmly to the efforts of the country
singing teacher, the choral society promoter, and later to the producer
of opera, and if history shows many failures, it may be pointed out that
these failures could not have taken place if no effort had been made.
Perhaps efforts in many