Time-line: 1841-1850

The London Theatre Manager Balfe turned theatre manager in London in 1841. Queen Victoria supported the venture to create a permanent national operatic organization for Britain at the Lyceum Theatre on the Strand. This venture was quite unsuccessful for a variety of reasons not the least of which was the lack of support Balfe received from his fellow composers who were supposed to write new operas for the venture, and didn’t. However, additionally Balfe’s managerial and financial skills did not measure-up either. He went bankrupt  after six months.  Disgusted with the entire endeavor he announced from the stage that he would never venture into Theatre Management again. He never did. Shortly after he left for Paris.

T he New Operatic Composer in  Paris -1843

Balfe went on to compose several other operas for Paris. His success in Paris gave him international recognition at a level never previously experienced by any British composer.  In fact it would take more than 100 years before another British operatic composer would reach the level of international recognition Balfe achieved in 1843.

Balfe’s first French opera, Le Puits D’Amour premiered early in 1843 A New Opera for London The Bohemian Girl – A Most Successful Work After about a year and a half in Paris Balfe returned to London where he introduced an English version of his successful French opera under the title of “Geraldine – The Love’s Well” in August 1843. A few months later, his most famous and most lasting opera, “The Bohemian Girl,”  was first produced at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on November 27, 1843.  Balfe composed most of this work at his home at 19 Piccadilly in central London, although it’s quite possible that some of it was initially  worked-on in Paris.  After the highly successful run of over 100 nights at Drury Lane, performances of The Bohemian Girl were soon mounted in: New York 1844; Dublin 1844, Philadelphia 1844, Vienna (in German) 1846, Sydney 1846, Prague 1847, Stockholm 1849, Berlin 1850, Trieste, Brescia, Verona & Bologna in 1854, Zurich 1854, Amsterdam 1855, Rouen 1862, Gothenburg 1865, Paris 1868/9, Toronto 1874, New Orleans 1876, Mexico 1884 and in Cape Town in 1887, etc.

Vienna, Pest (Budapest), Leipzig, Linz and Stuttgart - Spring 1845 Balfe's opera Die Vier Haimonskinder was performed with great success during this period in these cities. It later was performed in Berlin and other cities and towns in the German states and again in Vienna over a period of several years.

P aris – December 1845 – Balfe’s opera L’etoil de Seville 

Towards the end of 1845 Balfe returned to Paris to prepare for the premiere of his new opera which was written specially for the Paris Opera. In the audience on the opening night were France’s leading operatic composer, Giacomo Meyerbeer and the great pianist, Frederic Chopin. Chopin recorded the event in his writings.An elegant looking Michael Balfe, age 38.