LUCIA

See also:

• ELIZABETH
• ELIZABETH (1533-1603)
• ELIZABETH (1596-1662)
• ELIZABETH (1635–1650)
• ELIZABETH [ AMELIE EUGENIE ] (1837—1898)
• ELIZABETH [1lisabeth Philippine Marie Helene of France] (1764—1794)
• ELIZABETH [PAULINE ELIZABETH OTTILIE LOUISE] (1843– )
• ELIZABETH [PETROVNA] (1709-1762), EMPRESS
• ELIZABETH, SAINT (1207-1231)

ELIZABETH

See also:

• VESTRIS, GAETANO APPOLINO BALDASSARE (1729-18o8)
• LUCIA ELIZABETH VESTRIS (1797—1856)

VESTRIS (1797—1856)  , English actress, was born in London in January 1797, the daughter of Gaetano Stefano Bartolozzi (1757—1821) and granddaughter of Francesco Bartolozzi, the engraver . In 1813 she married Auguste Armand Vestris (see above), who deserted her four years later . With an agreeable contralto voice and a pleasing face and figure, Madame Vestris had made her first appearance in Italian opera in the title-role of Peter Winter's Il ratio di Proserpina at the King's Theatre in 1815 . She had an immediate success in both London and Paris, where she played Camille to Talma's Horace in Horace . Her first hit in English was at Drury Lane in James Cobb's (1756—1818) Siege of Bel-grade (1820) . She was particularly a favourite in "breeches parts," like Cherubino in the Marriage of Figaro, and in Don Giovanni, and with such introduced songs as " Cherry Ripe," " Meet me by, moonlight alone," " I've been roaming," etc . In 1831, having accumulated a fortune, she became, lessee of the Olympic Theatre, and began the, presentation of a series of burlesques and extravaganzas- for which she made this house famous . She married Charles James Mathews in 1838, accompanying him to America and aiding him in his subsequent managerial ventures . Her last appearance (1854) was' for his benefit in an adaptation of Madame de Girardin',s; Lai pia fait pear, called Sunshine through Clouds, and she died in London on the 8th of August 1856 . Her musical accomplishments and education were not ' sufficient to distinguish her in grand opera, and in high comedy she was only moderately successful . But in plays like Loan of a Lover, Paul Pry, Naval Engagements, etc., she was delightfully arch and bewitching .