him, but an all-bounteous Nature had done more, for never in her most
lavish moods did she more richly endow an artistic organization. Luigi
Lablache was born at Naples, December 6, 1794, of mixed Irish and
French parentage, and probably this strain of Hibernian blood was partly
responsible for the rich drollery of his comic humor. Young Lablache was
placed betimes in the Conservatorio della San Sebastiano, and studied
the elements of music thoroughly, as his instruction covered not merely
singing, but the piano, the violin, and violoncello. It is believed
that, had his vocal endowments not been so great, he could have become
a leading _virtuoso_ on any instrument he might have selected. Having
at length completed his musical education, he was engaged at the age of
eighteen as _buffo_ at the San Carlino theatre at Naples. Shortly after
his _début_, Lablache married Teresa Pinotti, the daughter of an
eminent actor, and found in this auspicious union the most wholesome
and powerful influence of his life. The young wife recognized the great
genius of her husband, and speedily persuaded him to retire from such a
narrow sphere. Lablache devoted a year to the serious study of singing,
and to emancipating himself from the Neapolitan patois which up to
this time had clung to him, after which he became primo basso at the
Palermitan opera. He was now twenty, and his voice had become developed
into that suave and richly toned organ, such as was never bestowed on
another man, ranging two octaves from E flat below to E flat above the
bass stave. An offer from the manager of La Scala, Milan, gratified
his ambition, and he made his _début_ in 1817 as Dandini in "La
Cenerentola." His splendid singing and acting made him brilliantly
successful; but Lablache was not content with this. His industry
and attempts at improvement were incessant. In fact this singer was
remarkable through life, not merely for his professional ambition, but
the zeal with which he sought to enlarge his general stores of knowledge
and culture. M. Scudo, in his agreeable recollections of Italian