The company's first London season opened at the Princess's Theatre in September 1875, playing "The Marriage of Figaro", with Charles Santley as Figaro and Rose Hersee as Susanna. In 1876, Rosa staged a second London season, which featured the first performance in English of "The Flying Dutchman" with Santley in the title role. For the next fifteen years, under Rosa's guidance, the company prospered and earned good notices, with provincial tours and London seasons, frequently in conjunction with Augustus Harris at the Drury Lane Theatre. Such was the success of the company that at one point three Carl Rosa touring troupes were set up. Rosa hired Alberto Randegger as the musical director of the company from 1879 to 1885. In 1880, George Grove wrote: "The careful way in which the pieces are put on the stage, the number of rehearsals, the eminence of the performers and the excellence of the performers have begun to bear their legitimate fruit, and the Carl Rosa Opera Company bids fair to become a permanent English institution." In 1892, Rosa's Grand Opera Company gave a command performance of "La fille du régiment" at Balmoral Castle.