had come to an end in the spring of 1890, Messrs. Abbey and Grau
took the theatre for a short season of Italian opera by a troupe
headed by Mme. Patti. In that season "Lakme" was sung once--on April
2, 1890. Now came an opportunity for the original representative of
the heroine. Abbey and Grau resumed the management of the theatre
in 1891, and in their company was Miss Van Zandt, for whom the
opera was "revived" on February 22. Mr. Abbey had great
expectations, but they were disappointed. For the public there was
metal more attractive than Miss Van Zandt and the Hindu opera in
other members of the company and other operas. It was the year of
Emma Eames's coming and also of Jean de Reszke's (they sang
together in Gounod's "Romeo et Juliette") and "Cavalleria
rusticana" was new. Then Delibes's opera hibernated in New York for
fifteen years, after which the presence in the Metropolitan company
of Mme. Marcella Sembrich led to another "revival." (Operas which
are unperformed for a term of two or three years after having been
once included in the repertory are "revived" in New York.) It was
sung three times in the season of 1906-1907. It also afforded one
of Mr. Hammerstein's many surprises at the Manhattan Opera House.
Five days before the close of his last season, on March 21, 1910,
it was precipitated on the stage ("pitchforked" is the popular and
professional term) to give Mme. Tetrazzini a chance to sing the
bell song. Altogether I know of no more singular history than that
of "Lakme" in New York.



Lakme is a child of the theatrical boards, who inherited traits
from several predecessors, the strongest being those deriving from
Aida and Selika. Like the former, she loves a man whom her father