• Estates Theatre orchestra: participating orchestra

The Národní listy report noted that the donation to charity [for fire victims in Trutnov and Roudnice] arising from subscriptions to this concert, arranged by the Prague Society ‘Schlaraffia’, had totalled over 2000zl. The participating choral society, described by the periodical as the ‘Zpěvácký spolek Pražský’ (Prague Singing Society), was almost certainly the German-orientated Prague Männergesangverein. Although this source did not include more specific details of the participating choir, a subsequent Národní listy  5/7/1861 review of a subsequent concert given on 3/7/1861 indicated that the designation ‘Prague Singing Society’ was applied by Národní listy to the German body rather than to the private choir of J.L. Lukes also active in the city during 1861 and which in November of that year formed the basis of the new Czech choral society, Hlahol. The solo vocalists in the duet by Mendelssohn were Miss Grabingrová and Miss Emilie Miková; they were joined by Eduard Bachmann and Jan Bláha in that composer’s ‘Tři písně národní’ [Drei Volkslieder]. These choral songs constitute nos.2-4 of Mendelssohn’s Heine settings Im Freien zu Singen, op.41. The chorus from Euryanthe was performed by members of the Prague Singing Society choir, members of the Estates Theatre opera and orchestra, and by unspecified amateurs.

Full details of the concert and its programme were published in Čas 9/6/1861. This source listed the works in performance order and noted too the participants. Follow the first number of the first part, Mr A. Eilers gave a speech, and following the song by Podhorský in the second part, Mr Hallenstein performed “Der Bauernherzog”, a poem by Uffo Horna. The text also remarked that the event again ‘testified to the splendid charity’ of the residents of Prague through their subscription to the concert, contributions already having exceeded 2000zl.