Frederick Federici
On opening night, after he sang the last note of the opera, and as he descended through a trap door in the stage, he had a heart attack and died suddenly.
There, he trained for the diplomatic service but decided instead to pursue a singing career[3] and also worked for a time as a theatrical agent and wrote songs.
[4] Federici began singing in London concerts by age 21, in 1872, at the Schubert Society, Freemasons' Tavern, St George's Hall and Surrey Gardens, among others.
[3][5] In Ireland, he first appeared in operatic roles as the King in Maritana, Rodolfo in La Sonnambula, Valentine in Faust, Arnheim in The Bohemian Girl, the Baron in Lurline, and continued singing in concerts, earning warm reviews.
1873, he made his London debut at the Crystal Palace theatre in Faust, Maritana, The Bohemian Girl and, as Father Tom in The Lily of Killarney and continued singing in concerts and touring with Carlotta Patti and others, despite some ill health in the mid-1870s.
While on that tour, he married fellow D'Oyly Carte artist Lena Monmouth (real name Jane Elenor Finili (1858–1937).
[8][9] To secure the British copyright for the new Gilbert and Sullivan opera The Pirates of Penzance, which was to open in New York the following night[10] the Pinafore touring company gave a perfunctory performance of Pirates the afternoon before the New York premiere, at the Royal Bijou Theatre in Paignton, Devon, organised by Helen Lenoir, the secretary and future wife of Richard D'Oyly Carte.
Having had only one rehearsal, they travelled to nearby Paignton for the matinee, where they read their parts from scripts carried onto the stage, making do with whatever costumes they had on hand.
[6][13] One local reviewer wrote that Federici "has a somewhat powerful voice, which comes out well in the patter song ... "If you want a receipt for that popular mystery," whilst his solo "When first I put this uniform on," was received with great éclat,[14] and another said that he "evoked enthusiastic applause".
[17] The Bristol Mercury and Daily Post thought that "Strephon was effectively rendered by Mr. F. Federici, who not only acquitted himself very satisfactorily in the singing, but infused into the part a vein of quiet humour".
[18] However, The Era had a mixed reaction: "Mr. F. Federici, though a good actor, is a trifle too robust in style",[19] and the Liverpool Mercury wrote that "he is too conscious of the importance of the place he holds in the piece".
[21] In the first half of 1885, he toured as the Counsel to the Plaintiff in Trial by Jury and Sir Marmaduke Pointdextre in The Sorcerer, while also continuing to appear as Florian in Princess Ida.
Pinafore and as the title character in The Mikado before taking the latter work on a D'Oyly Carte tour of Austria and Germany until January 1887.
[2] On 3 March 1888 Federici was performing the role of Mephistopheles (rather than Valentine) in Faust on opening night at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne, Australia.
The Press of Melbourne wrote about Federici's career, performance and the events of the evening: The tragic and appalling occurrence ... must command universal sympathy and regret.
Mr Federici achieved considerable success both in England and America in comic opera, but he was also an excellent musician and the composer of several songs of more than average merit, and before his association with comic opera had successfully appeared as a vocalist at some of the best concerts in London, including the Monday Popular Concerts at St. James's Hall.
