I take my characters in A Baron in Her Bed - The Spies of Mayfair Book One to the opera, and found it fascinating to research. Here's a taste of what I discovered.
Regards,
Maggi Andersen
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| Drury Lane 1808 |
Opera and drama could only be found in London at limited
venues. Drury Lane and Covent Garden had the monopoly on plays and opera in
English, explicitly granted by royal patent. The Kings theatre, Haymarket which had no special royal connection or license,
remained the dominant presenter of opera throughout Austen’s lifetime, though
it’s supremacy was challenged in the 1790s by the more conveniently located Pantheon.
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| The Kings Theatre and Opera House, Haymarket |
The audience was composed mostly of the aristocracy, the
gentry and the people of means for the ticket prices were far higher than at
the theatres. Boxes, which held four to six people, were reserved, but seats in
the orchestra were not, and those in line got the best seats; wealthier patrons
often sent their footmen ahead to hold seats for them.
While waiting for the opera to start, people could visit the
coffee room, talk w3ith friends, scan the audience for famous faces, or buy a
book from the “Fruit Woman” for 1s. 6d. which contained the cast and the
libretto. Once the opera commenced all activity was meant to cease, but many
continued to move about and indulge in conversation. Few patrons could speak
Italian and the King’s Theatre could not present its performances in English.
Opera was only performed during the winter when members of the
ton were in town. During summer the wealthy repaired to their country homes and
the seaside. Singers then toured the country performing in provincial towns.
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| Dorothea Jordan |
Female performers were seen as glorified prostitutes and
shunned by society, which had some basis in fact:
Dorothea Jordan, had a long-running and much-publicized
affair with the duke of Clarence, bearing him ten children. (Jane Austen saw
her perform at Covent Garden in 1814. One satirical cartoon shows her in her
bedroom, gazing adoringly at a duchess’ coronet, which she hopes someday to
wear by marrying her lover. A map on the wall purports to show the route from “Strolling
Lane” (i.e. prostitution) through “Old Drury Common” all the way to “Derbyshire
Peak.” A genealogical chart of the nobility lies on her dressing table, and her
bed-hangings are crowned by a Phrygian cap, symbol of the French Revolution.
The latter is intended to ridicule her pretensions to nobility; as a common
woman, let alone an actress, she should know her place.
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| Sarah Siddons by Thomas Gainsborough |
Some actresses of sterling talent who resisted the
temptation to climb to the top of the social scale were exempted from the
popular prejudice against performing women. Sarah Siddons, who was generally
well respected, is a notable example, but those who seemed to be using their
visibility as a means to wealth and comfort were strongly stigmatized. The
situation was worse for those without stardom to protect them, and it was worst
of all for the “opera girls.”
Source: All Things Austen - An Encyclopedia of Austen's World Volume II
