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Collection Description
Collection name
Gasson Collection (1788-2007)
Unique identifier
Description
A collection of programmes from 1788 to 2007. Other items in the collection include correspondence, prospectuses, tickets, musician contracts and performance ephemera.
The collection focuses on opera singers, with programmes from opera performances and vocal concerts. The main strength of the collection is material from nineteenth-century opera, particularly for London performances. The collection includes significant amounts of material from concerts featuring singers such as Adelina Patti, Giuditta Pasta, Enrico Caruso, Giuditta Grisi, Giovanni Mario, John McCormack, Luigi Lablache, Maria Malibran, Giovanni Rubini, Maria Callas and Kathleen Ferrier.
The heart of the collection is the significant number of programmes from the following venues: Theatre Royal, Drury Lane; Theatre Royal, Covent Garden; Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden. There are programmes and prospectuses from significant opera seasons, such as the German opera seasons at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (1882) and the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (1884). There are also programmes from significant opera performances such as the first British Ring Cycle, given at Her Majesty's Theatre, Haymarket, in 1882. There are also programmes from concert halls extant in the nineteenth century such as the Hanover Square Rooms, Royal Albert Hall and St. James's Hall.
The collection includes programmes from Royal venues and private houses. These include a significant number of programmes from Buckingham Palace in the second half of the nineteenth century.
However, the British material in the collection is not limited to London. There are significant provincial programmes in various parts of the collection, including material from the first Aldeburgh Festival in 1948.
There is a small amount of foreign material in the collection. These include programmes from early nineteenth-century European houses, such as the Théatre Privilégié de Strasbourg. In addition, there are some programmes from European opera houses in the twentieth-century. There are a number of programmes from the Italian Opera at the Boston Theatre. These date from the 1850s.
As well as paper programmes, the collection includes a number of silk programmes. These are largely from the Royal Opera, Covent Garden in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but the silk programmes come from as diverse range of venues as the inaugural performance at the Metropolitan Opera on 16/09/1966 to a concert given in the New Rooms, Hanover Square, on 20/04/1807.
Arrangement:
The collection is loosely arranged by size, then under various thematic categories based on venue.
Date range
1788 - 2007
Associated People and Organisations
Aldeburgh Festival -
Ferrier, Kathleen -
Malibran, Maria -
Patti, Adelina -
Caruso, Enrico -
Mario, Giovanni Matteo -
Callas, Maria -
Rubini, Signor -
Lablache, Federico -
Grisi, Giulia 1811 - 1869
Associated Places
Boston Theatre
Buckingham Palace
Hanover Square Rooms
Her Majesty's Theatre, 1837-1901 (Was Queen's Theatre to 1714, King's Theatre to 1837; Became His Majesty's Theatre 1901, Became Her Majesty's Theatre 1952)
Metropolitan Opera House, New York
Royal Albert Hall
Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
Théatre Privilégié de Strasbourg
Theatre Royal, Covent Garden
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Associated Times
18th century - late 1776-1799
19th century - early 1800-1836
19th century - early Victorian 1837-1850
19th century - late Victorian 1876-1899
19th century - mid Victorian 1851-1875
20th century - early 1900-1930
20th century - late 1971-1999
20th century - mid 1931-1970
21st century
Associated Content
Correspondence
Opera
Tickets
Brochures
Star Item(s)
Strength(s)
Further details
Viewing the Collection
Visiting information
Location details
Gasson Archives
London Open Map
DOMUS
Website
Email
Telephone
Fax
Building Information
Collections Overview
Private collection of Anthony Gasson.
Display Overview
Star Objects
For details of other collections held at the same location: See the location record
Additional Collection Information
Accrual Status
Open
Legal Status
Custodial History
Related Publications
Management Information (Type)
Collection Owner(s)
Collection Creator(s)
Collection Custodians(s)
