Anecdotes of Great Musicians/Anecdote 118
118.—THE PRIMA DONNA OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
As the world grows older, prima donnas seem to grow more sensible. It is very seldom, now-a-days, that we hear of any great piece of nonsense or extravagance on the part of these talented and captivating beings. But in the last century it was otherwise; and the records of the times are full of the scandals, intrigues, eccentricities and excesses of footlight favorites. But the difference may be in the moral and social atmospheres of the times rather than in the individuals themselves.
There were few more capricious than the great soprano, Gabriella. Of her it is related that when the Viceroy gave a grand dinner at Palermo, herself being one of the principal invited guests, she insolently remained in bed, reading, and when a messenger was sent, saying the company was awaiting her coming, she sent word that she had entirely forgotten the engagement.
That evening when she was to appear before the company in opera, she sang all her airs sotto voce. The Viceroy sent a messenger to the stage promising to punish her if she did not sing out with her accustomed power and brilliancy. On this she obstinately sent a reply to the effect that "while he might make her cry, he could not make her sing." This exhausted the patience of royalty and she was sent to prison, where she was confined twelve days.
But even here her caprice showed itself and made her the conqueror after all. She gave costly entertainments to her fellow-prisoners, who were of all classes, from debtors to bandits; she paid their debts, feasted them, and sang to them in her most charming manner; and she was finally released amid the acclamations of the people she had befriended.