Pasquale Brignoli

Pasquale Brignoli (Pasquilino Brignoli) (1824 in Naples, Italy – 30 October 1884 in New York City) was an Italian-born American tenor.

Early career The son of a glove-maker, Also in 1864 Brignoli sued a theatre manager for $15,000 when he was denied payment. The manager claimed he broke his contract and refused to sing on numerous occasions. When Clara Louise Kellogg once noticed that his ears were pierced, she speculated that he might have been a sailor at one time, but he never allowed anyone to discuss the matter with him. and soon thereafter he sang Manrico in the first American production of Il Trovatore (2 May 1855). as well as Luigi Arditi's La Spia (1855) and Betly (1861) at the Philadelphia Academy of Music.

Besides the reputed opera of his youth, Brignoli composed other works. One of his orchestral pieces, The Sailor's Dream, was played in Boston in 1868. Nevertheless, his many professional friends and colleagues flocked to his funeral in St. Agnes' Catholic church which was filled to capacity. A funeral march was specially composed for the occasion and played by the entire Seventh Regiment Band at Everett House, where the tenor died. The coffin was surrounded with white roses and other flowers, white doves, a broken column and a crucifix. The pall-bearers included Max Maretzek and several male opera singers. He was survived by a brother and sister who were living in Paris. Since that time, he has been largely forgotten, not even earning a listing in the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians or Oxford Music Online.

Private life

Brignoli became immensely popular and women besieged him with amorous letters and propositions.

It was not infrequent at this time in the history of American opera for English-language songs to be inserted into operas. In 1879, The New York Times, remarked on the unintended humour in a performance of Don Pasquale, in which Brignoli was appearing at Wallack's Theatre, and into which he had interpolated what had become his theme song, Good-bye, Sweetheart, Good-bye. Brignoli was in the process of being divorced by his wife of nine years, Sallie McCullough, a soprano, whom he had met in 1869. She was from South Carolina and reported to have been very beautiful. The couple had eloped to Montreal and been married in a Presbyterian church without the knowledge of any of their friends. McCullough was from a respected Southern family and the couple were popular with New York society. At this time in his career, he was able to demand and obtain a large salary. In spite of this, Sallie was wretched at home. She described him as 'invariably cross' and that when business was dull, he vented his spite upon her.

When Brignoli went on his European tour in the 1870s, his wife accompanied him. The failure of the venture made him angry and abusive and their relationship intolerable. She also learned that he was being unfaithful. She returned to New York and filed for divorce. The charges made against Brignoli were "habitual cruelty, a neglect to provide for his wife, and adultery." The charge of adultery was proven to the satisfaction of the Referee and the judge issued a decree of absolute divorce. Brignoli sailed back to Europe the same day to complete his engagements in England.