After La Favorita, Los Puritanos, La Lega , came the premiere of La Gioconda by the famous maestro Ponchielli. He was a great friend of Gayarre and suggested that he listen to it carefully, before putting it into rehearsal. Ponchelli gave his audition on piano. When asked by the maestro, Gayarre d that he was not competent to judge an opera, which he thought was excellent, except for one serious fault: that in all the opera, the tenor did not have a moment when he sang alone. The teacher, startled, went to work and wrote Enzo's beautiful romance, in the second act. The premiere was with Gayarre and the famous Mariani-Masi. In the rehearsal there was a disagreement Gayarre and Ponchielli and the director of the opera, maestro Faccio. The aforementioned ballad should have been sung next to the prompter's shell, for a better hearing by the public. Gayarre held that from the deck of the ship, in the background of the stage, without leaving the context of the scene. The tenor, exquisite artist that he was, relented. But when the time came, Gayarre calmly got on the boat, before the director's vain gestures. The impression he made on the public was indescribable. He made her it, and the romance of the ship, as it was then called, was the greatest and greatest solemnity of the night. After the season, Gayarre went to South America.
MEL