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273:. 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 vent his spite upon her.
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voice had begun to crack and he could no longer demand the large salaries that he had been used to receiving. He started to neglect his wife financially and emotionally and she returned to New York and filed for divorce. Brignoli returned for the hearing in which his wife prevailed. Shortly thereafter, Brignoli sailed for
Liverpool, under engagement with
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The son of a glove-maker, he received a fine musical education, and became a pianist of some ability. It is said that at the age of fifteen he wrote an opera, and, disgusted at the way in which the finest aria was sung, rushed upon the stage and sang it himself, to the delight of all. He paid little
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Notwithstanding the large sums of money that he made by his singing, he died in poverty. 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
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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
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His voice, on his best days, was a tenor of great volume and sweetness, and even in his sixtieth year he was still heard with delight in concert and
English opera. He was unrivalled in grace of execution and facility in phrasing. However, he was severely criticized by some for his lack of dramatic
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In the 1870s, Brignoli, married soprano Sallie
Isabella McCullough, and organized an opera company of his own which toured with great success and in which his wife made her operatic debut to a warm reception. Brignoli decided to take his talents back to Europe but the tour was not a success. His
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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.
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https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1864-08-18/ed-1/seq-4/#date1=1864&index=0&rows=20&words=&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=New+York&date2=1864&proxtext=&y=17&x=18&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
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heard him singing at a party and advised him to pursue a professional career. Success in the concert-room encouraged him to appear in opera in Paris and London. His operatic debut was in Paris in
Rossini's
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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
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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
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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.
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It was not infrequent at this time in the history of
American opera for English-language songs to be inserted into operas. In 1879,
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Little more is known about his early life because he was very reticent about it. During a civil hearing in New York in 1864 (
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in 1855, and soon attained a popularity that lasted almost to the end of his life. His
American debut was as Edgardo in
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and many other celebrated artists. Brignoli made three trips to Europe but the United States became his adopted home.
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Besides the reputed opera of his youth, Brignoli composed other works. One of his orchestral pieces,
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Brignoli became immensely popular and women besieged him with amorous letters and propositions.
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Boston
Symphony Orchestra, (1920-1921) Programme of the First Afternoon and Evening Concerts
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119:(12 March 1855) and soon thereafter he sang Manrico in the first American production of
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The New York Herald (Thursday, August 18, 1864) 1st column, Brignoli vs Manager Grau
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attention, however, to the cultivation of his voice until after he was twenty-one.
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Michael B. Dougan (1994) "Pasquilino Brignoli: Tenor of the Golden West" in:
125:(2 May 1855). Other premiere American performances in which he appeared were
169:. Brignoli's first appearance in Boston was on May 25, 1855, as Gennaro in
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Oxford Music Online (includes Grove Music Online), accessed Sep.23, 2010
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on her 1859 adult debut in the United States, and afterwards sang with
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360:(1864) "Signor Brignoli Declines to Answer Certain Questions"
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which had live cannon in the style of Tchaikovsky's
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449:(Nov.4, 1884) "A Celebrated Tenor's Funeral".
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437:(Feb.17, 1879) "A Tenor's Divorce Suit"
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233:Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
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461:(1884) "The Death of Signor Brignoli"
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522:Immigrants to the United States
89:in the role of Nemorino at the
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415:Dougan: Luigi Arditi (1896)
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212:The Crossing of the Danube
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149:New York Academy of Music
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52:Clara Louise Kellogg
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