Music from the Heart

Author’s noteKing William IV and his prim little German wife, Queen Adelaide, raised the moral standard of England, which had fallen to a very low level during the raffish extravagant reign of King George IV. Unfortunately propriety at Court meant boredom and evenings when the Gentlemen-in-Waiting yawned themselves to bed. In consequence the parties and entertainments that the late Monarch had enjoyed took place in the private houses of Noblemen. Madame Vestris scandalised and delighted London during the Regency by appearing on the stage dressed in breeches. She continued to play male parts during the reigns of William IV and Queen Victoria and made a great success of the Royal Olympic Theatre. Before the Season opened on January 3rd, 1831, Madame began to alter theatre practice in Britain. She paid salaries in advance and introduced proper regulation of working hours and breaks. Within an hour of the opening of the Season, Madame progressed another innovation, the design of a setting exclusively related to the matter of the play! She ran the Royal Olympic Theatre until 1839, appeared in New York at the Park Theatre, went on to manage the Theatre Royal Convent Garden and to appear at the Haymarket and several other theatres. She received an ovation at the Lyceum in 1854 at her final performance and died the following year. Madame Vestris was undoubtedly one of the most fascinating personalities of the stage and she made theatrical history as a Manageress and an innovator.