Opening night at the Opera di Monte Carlo -- Jan. 25, 1879

Speranza

A murmur of admdiration rose when the gold-embroidered curtain opened to display the stage.

Since two immense mirrors had been inset into spaces flanking the door and the back, it may equally have been the audience's reaction to being dazzled by the reflectoin of the hundreds of lights from the chandelier and surrounding candelabra.