LESTRYGONIANS
"Kept her voice up to the very last. Pupil of Michael Balfe's, wasn't she?" (U8.417)
[*Ed. Michael William Balfe (1808 - 1870) was an Irish singer and composer of songs and operas, including 'The Bohemian Girl' and 'The Rose of Castile'. He was born in Dublin, the son of a dancing master. As a child, he played the violin for his father's classes (1814 - 1815). He moved to London in 1823 and became a violinist in the orchestra of Drury Lane. Balfe had a pleasant baritone voice, and sang (in Norwich, Rome, Paris) in various operas. He was also famous for songs he wrote such as 'When other hearts', 'I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls' and 'Come into the garden, Maud', and 28 operas. Balfe was married to Luisa Roser, a Hungarian singer. In 1864, he retired to a farm in Hertfordshire.]
