Whim.—1735. The Plot; Trick for Trick; The Merry Cobler.—1736. The Lover his own Rival.—1737. The Coffee House.—1739. The Tanner of York; The Hospital for Fools; Britons, strike home.—1750. The Intriguing Chambermaid.—1758. Galligantus.
ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL, DIE, a comic operetta (Singspiel) in 3 acts, by Mozart; words altered by Stephanie from Bretzner's 'Belmont und Constanze.' Begun July 30, 1781; produced July 12 [App. p.628 "July 16"], 82, at Vienna. Its French and Italian titles are, L'Enlèvement au Sérail' and 'Il Seraglio.' It was produced in English 'with additional airs by Mr. Kramer' as 'The Seraglio,' at Covent Garden, Nov. 24, 1827. [Andre, 66a.]
ENTREE, (1) A name formerly given to a small piece of music in slow 4-4 time, with the rhythm of a march, and usually containing two parts, each repeated. It received its name from the fact of its being largely used in theatrical and ballet music to accompany the entry of processions, etc. An example of this kind of Entrée may be found in J. S. Bach's 'Suite in A for piano and violin.' (2) The word Entrée (or its Italian equivalent Intrada) is also used as synonomous with 'introduction,' and is applied to the opening piece (after the overture) of an opera or ballet.
EPINE, Francesca Margherita de l', in spite of her French-sounding surname, appears to have been an Italian singer. From Italy she came to England with a German musician named Greber, and was often, therefore, called 'Greber's Peg' by the wits of the day. An advertisement in the 'London Gazette' (No. 2834), 1692, announces that the ' Italian lady (that is lately come over that is so famous for her singing) though it has been reported that she will sing no more in the consort at York-buildings; yet this is to give notice, that next Tuesday, January 10th, she will sing there, and so continue during the season.' A fortnight later, this 'lady' is more familiarly called the 'Italian woman' in the notice given in the Gazette, that she would not only sing at York-buildings every Tuesday, but on Thursday in Freeman's-yard, Cornhill. She was the first Italian who sang in England. In the theatrical advertisement for Lincoln's Inn Fields, June 1, 1703, it is said that 'Signora Francesca Margarita de l'Epine will sing, being positively the last time of her singing on the stage during her stay in England.' She continued, notwithstanding this, to sing during the whole of that month; nor did she ever quit England, but remained here till the time of her death, about the middle of the last century.
On Jan. 29, 1704, Margherita sang, for the first time, at Drury Lane. On her second appearance there was a disturbance in the theatre, while she was singing, the instigation of which was attributed to her rival, Mrs. Tofts, whose servant was, indeed, one of the principal agents in it. Mrs. Tofts, however, indignantly denied this in a letter to Rich, printed in the 'Daily Courant' Feb. 8, 1704. In 1705 'Arsinoe' was produced, as announced in the 'Daily Courant,' 'a new opera, after the Italian manner, all sung, being set by Master Clayton, with dances and singing before and after the opera, by Signora F. Margarita del' Epine.' This singing was probably in Italian. She sang in Greber's 'Temple of Love,' the year after; and in 1707 in 'Thomyris,' the music taken from Scarlatti and Buononcini, the recitatives and accompaniments being added by Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Pepusch. She sang also in 'Camilla,' performing her part in Italian, while the English singers sang their own language. These rôles she repeated in 1708, and in 1709 added that of Marius in Scarlatti's 'Pyrrhus and Demetrius,' arranged for the English stage by Swiny and Haym. In 1710 she sang in 'Almahide,' that opera, the first ever performed wholly in Italian on our stage, the names of neither poet nor composer of which are known; and again in 'Hydaspes.' In addition to these, she took part in 'Antiochus' and 'Ambleto,' and in Handel's 'Pastor Fido' and 'Rinaldo ' in 1712; and in the pasticcio 'Ernelinda' and Handel's 'Teseo' in 1713. She continued to sing until 1718, when she married Dr. Pepusch, and retired from the stage. She is said to have brought him a fortune of £10,000. 'Her execution was of a very different order' from that of the English singers of that time, 'and involved real difficulties. Indeed, her musical merit must have been very considerable to have kept her so long in favour on the English stage, where, till employed at the opera, she sang either in musical entertainments, or between the acts, almost every night. Besides being out-landish, she was so swarthy and ill-favoured, that her husband used to call her Hecate, a name to which she answered with as much good humour as if he had called her Helen' (Burney). It was, perhaps, owing to this ugliness, that no portrait of her was ever made. She was a woman of perfectly good character; but Dean Swift, who was no respecter of persons, particularly musical, in his 'Journal to Stella,' Aug. 6, 1711, being at Windsor says, 'We have a music-meeting in our town to-night. I went to the rehearsal of it, and there was Margarita, and her sister [G. Maria Gallia], and another drab, and a parcel of fiddlers; I was weary and would not go to the meeting, which I am sorry for, because I heard it was a great assembly.' She appears [App. p.628 "is said"] to have been an excellent musician, not only as a singer, but also as an extraordinary performer on the harpsichord, and marks an era in the history of music in England. [App. p.628 "she frequently signed herself Françoise Marguérite. In May, 1703, she received '20 ggs for one day's singing in ye play call'd the Fickle Shepherdess.' (MS. in the writer's collection.) At end of article add 'It appears from a MS. diary (in the writer's possession) kept by B. Cooke (i.e. Dr. Cooke), a pupil of Dr. Pepusch, that Mme. Pepusch began to be ill on July 19, 1746, and that, on the 10th August following, in the afternoon he (B. Cooke) went to Vaux-Hall with the Doctor, Mrs. Pepusch being dead. She was "extremely sick" the day before.'"]
ERARD, is the name of the singer who performed the principal bass part in 'Alexander's Feast' on its first production at Covent Garden, Feb. 19, 1736. He was probably a Frenchman; but nothing more is known of him than the above fact.
ERARD. The name borne by this firm of harp and pianoforte makers has been known almost as long in England as in France, its
