Wilde Night in Wrightsville
In 1881, Gilbert and
Sullivan’s newest comic
operetta, “Patience,”
premiered in London.
The show was about the
need to be part of a fad
and in this case the fad
was the Aesthetic move-ment,
which became
immensely popular in
1870s England. It was
as much about style
and attitude as it was about a doctrine.
Holding that beauty should be the high-est
ideal in all of life’s endeavors, some
argued that the prolific output of art,
poetry and fashion by Aesthetic artists
was empty and self-indulgent; therefore,
it was easy to ridicule as a meaningless
fad, and that made “Patience” a big hit.
The plot revolves around the rivalry of
two contrasting Aesthetic poets who are
in love with a simple milkmaid named
Patience. It is a popular misconception
that these poets were based on two of
the leading proponents of the move-ment,
the Irish-born author, Oscar
Wilde, and the American-born painter,
James McNeill Whistler.
The Cape Fear region has an interest-ing
connection to both of these figures.
Whistler was the son of Anna McNeill
Whistler, who was born in Wilmington
in a two-story brick house that once
stood on the southwest corner of Fourth
and Orange streets. She was the subject
of Whistler’s most famous painting,
“Whistler’s Mother.” Oscar Wilde
appeared before Wilmington audiences
in 1882 as a part of his American lecture
tour, which was sponsored by impresario
Richard D’Oyly Carte, who wanted to
T he plot of
“Patience” revolved around
the rivalry of two contrasting
Aesthetic poets who are in
love with a simple milkmaid
named Patience. It is a popu-lar
misconception that these
poets were based on two of
the leading proponents of the
movement, the Irish-born
author, Oscar Wilde, and
the American-born painter,
James McNeill Whistler.
The Cape Fear region has
an interesting connection to
both of these figures.
26
WBM july 2012
enhance attendance for
the touring productions
of “Patience.”
The flamboyant
Oxford graduate was
barely 27 years old
but already famous for
being famous, though
his literary output con-sisted
of a publication
of a single slim volume
of verse and a few
reviews in periodicals. He had been tour-ing
the states for seven months and had
received a great deal of press. Before it
was known that Wilde was to visit North
Carolina, the Wilmington Morning Star
had published at least 21 anecdotes
about him in the early part of 1882.
On Saturday, July 8, Wilde arrived
by train from Charleston and checked
into the Purcell House, a hotel in the
first block of Front Street on the site of
what later became the Bailey Theater.
Wilmington was North Carolina’s larg-est
city and the Opera House (Thalian
Hall) was the location that evening for
his lecture, “The Decorative Arts.” The
stage had been prepared to resemble a
library, with a pedestal table at its center
from which Wilde was to address the
audience.
Reserved seats were one dollar with
general admission at 50 cents. Many
in the audience had likely attended
the performance of “Patience” on the
same stage presented earlier that year
on March 23, by Ford’s Comic Opera
Company.
According to the Star, “Mr. Wilde
walked on the stage shortly before
9 o’clock and was applauded with the
By Tony Rivenbark