Pasquale Brignoli

It is said that at the age of fifteen he wrote an opera, and, disgusted at the way in which the finest aria was sung, rushed upon the stage and sang it himself, to the delight of all.

[4] When Clara Louise Kellogg once noticed that his ears were pierced, she speculated that he might have been a sailor at one time, but he never allowed anyone to discuss the matter with him.

[1] On the invitation of Ole Bull,[1] he came to the United States with Maurice Strakosch in 1855, and soon attained a popularity that lasted almost to the end of his life.

[1][5] Other premiere American performances in which he appeared were La Traviata (1856), I vespri siciliani (1859) and Un ballo in maschera (1861), conducted by Brignoli's friend, Emanuele Muzio at the New York Academy of Music,[6] as well as Luigi Arditi's La Spia (1855)[7] and Betly (1861) at the Philadelphia Academy of Music.

[5] His voice, on his best days, was a tenor of great volume and sweetness, and even in his sixtieth year he was still heard with delight in concert and English opera.

[1][5] He supported Adelina Patti on her 1859 adult debut in the United States, and afterwards sang with Anna de la Grange, Parepa, Nilsson, Tietjens and many other celebrated artists.

In the 1870s, Brignoli, married soprano Sallie Isabella McCullough, and organized an opera company of his own which toured with great success and in which his wife made her operatic debut to a warm reception.

Shortly thereafter, Brignoli sailed for Liverpool, under engagement with Colonel Mapleson to sing at Her Majesty's Opera House in London and in other English cities.

[5] He also composed songs and a piece titled The Crossing of the Danube which had live cannon in the style of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.

A funeral march was specially composed for the occasion and played by the entire Seventh Regiment Band at Everett House, where the tenor died.

The charge of adultery was proven to the satisfaction of the Referee and the judge issued a decree of absolute divorce.