Editing Michael William Balfe (section)

===Later years===
From 1846 to 1852, Balfe was appointed musical director and principal conductor for the Italian Opera at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]],<ref>Walsh, Basil. [http://www.victorianweb.org/mt/balfe/bio1.html "Michael W. Balfe (1808–70): His Life and Career"] Victoria Web, accessed 7 February 2008</ref> with [[Max Maretzek]] as his assistant.<ref>{{cite web|title=This day, May 15, in Jewish history|url=http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/cjnconnect/blogs/article_057a78b4-3f44-5375-a20d-a850a62b2194.html| publisher=Cleveland Jewish News}}</ref> There he first produced several of [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]]'s operas for London audiences. He conducted for [[Jenny Lind]] at her opera debut and on many occasions thereafter.<ref name=Irish/>

[[File:Michael William Balfe grave Kensal Green 2014.jpg|thumb|alt=A red granite obelisk surrounded by other gravestones|Balfe's funerary monument at [[Kensal Green Cemetery]], London]]
In 1851, in anticipation of [[The Great Exhibition]] in London, Balfe composed an innovative cantata, ''Inno Delle Nazioni'', sung by nine female singers, each representing a country. He continued to compose new operas in English, including ''[[The Armourer of Nantes]]'' (1863), and wrote hundreds of songs, such as "When Other Hearts", "[[I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls]]" (from ''The Bohemian Girl''), "Come Into the Garden, Maud", "Killarney", and "Excelsior" (a setting of the [[Excelsior (Longfellow)|poem by Longfellow]]).<ref>[http://www.excelsiortrust.co.uk/modules/news/article.php?storyid=93 "What's in a name?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005022048/http://www.excelsiortrust.co.uk/modules/news/article.php?storyid=93 |date=5 October 2011 }} at the Excelsior Trust website. Accessed 17 August 2010</ref> His last opera, nearly completed when he died, was ''The Knight of the Leopard'' and achieved considerable success in Italian as ''Il Talismano''.<ref name=Irish/><ref>Trutt, David. [http://gsarchive.net/trutt/GilbertBooks/TalismanoLibretto.html Introduction and link to English-language libretto of ''Il Talismano''], The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 2 October 2010</ref>

Balfe retired in 1864 to [[Hertfordshire]], where he rented a country estate. He died at his home in Rowney Abbey, [[Ware, Hertfordshire]], in 1870, aged 62, and was buried at [[Kensal Green Cemetery]] in London, next to fellow Irish composer [[William Vincent Wallace]], who had died five years before. In 1882, a medallion portrait of him was unveiled in [[Westminster Abbey]]. A [[London County Council]] plaque unveiled in 1912 commemorates Balfe at 12 Seymour Street, [[Marylebone]].<ref name='EngHet'>{{cite web| url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/discover/blue-plaques/search/balfe-michael-william-1808-1870|title=Balfe, Michael William (1808–1870)|publisher=English Heritage| access-date=19 October 2012}}</ref>

In all, Balfe composed at least 29 operas.<ref name=Walsh184>Walsh (2008), pp. 184–216</ref> He also wrote several cantatas (including ''Mazeppa'' in 1862) and a symphony (1829). Balfe's most notable opera, and his only large-scale piece that is still performed is ''The Bohemian Girl''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Bohemian Girl |url=https://www.englishromanticopera.org/operas/The_Bohemian_Girl.htm |website=English Romantic Opera}}</ref>