When Sir Augustus Harris brought his company to Edinburgh in 1893, they opened with a peculiar double-bill of Scottish premieres. Gluck's Orfeo was admired and respected, but not yet loved. Leoncavallo's Pagliacci was completely unknown. In 1894 the Gluck was brought back, this time coupled with La Navarraise by Massenet. It also entered the Carl Rosa repertoire, preceding Cavalleria Rusticana in another incongruous combination.
The Ravogli sisters, especially Giulia, the contralto, were highly regarded. They had taken advice from the great Giovanni Mario in Rome some years before when they were training.
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