The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-21 00:00:00

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atainP,

It requires no very great stretch of memory to recal the
time when there existed no home for English Opera—no
theatre in which our native composers could secure a hearing
at the bar of public criticism for works which demanded a
large and well-trained body of artists to interpret them. It
is our boast to be able to say that such a home, such a
theatre we have furnished—euch a body of artists we have
brought together.

Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen accorded us her
patronage for a purely English opera— and bush it has been
our study in every sense to make it, having produced,
with the exception of Meyerbeer's* " Dinorah" and Flo-
solely English artists.
tow's " Martha," solely English operas, and employing

This Row becomes a ground of accusation against us, and
we are told that it has been mostimpolitic to exclude foreign
operas from our too exclusively English house. This may
be so in a pecuniary sense, but we have at least been faith-
ful to our original purpose, and if we have, in a mistaken
patriotism, lost the battle, we are the sole losers, while
many, during the past eight seasons, have highly profited
by our offorte.f
Of one most ungenerous inuendo we feel bound to take
notice. In announcing a scheme, yet in embryo, for the
performance of English and adaptations of foreign operas, a
rather zealous partisan has said of its committee, "Its
members are noblemen and gentlemen of rank and distinc-
tion, placed by their social position above the reach of un-
worthy motives."

Now, whether the desire to establish a permanent home
for English opera in this country, on a scale to compete
with establishments devoted to the performance of foreign
operas, and thereby to elevate English art; to open a field
for the talent of native composers and native artists, both
vocal and instrumental; to bring the theatres, behind the
scenes, iato such order that the purest lady might visit it ;
to rule with strict discipline, without which order can never
be maintained in such an establishment ; to throw the whole
of our respective fortunes, time and talents into the service,
an simply to desire out of it to obtain an honourable liveli •
hood for our respective families—be unworthy motives, we
willingly leave to the public to decide.

In the course of our eight seasons we have produced 15
operas and five operettas, together with 11 revivals, all ad,
milted to be works of excellence, though all have not com-
manded the success of which competent judges have pro-
nouncEd them deserving. It is not too much to say that the
bu theseexlkoifstence of th
works would would not have been composed but for
the Royal English Opera; without it, if
composed, would have remained in the safe guardianship of
their composers.
We would respectfully submit that while dramatic art
appeals to the whole public, the operatic branch of it finds
but a limited audience, and that, tao, the most intellectual,
the most cultivated, and the most fastidious. The managers
of great operatic establishments have no ultimate gauge or
standard but success, and must stand or fall by the taste of
their patrons. It cannot be urged in sober earnest that any
parson, or any association of persons, will ever be found in
this country who will persevere in a steady course of failure
from the more love of art.

It has been amongst the distresses of our management
occasionally to refuse works offered, but this has never been
done 'without due deliberation, in which we have invariably
taken counsel of others less interested than ourselves finan
cially, but equally interested with ourselves in the advance-
ment of art. In some instances the libretto offered might
have done good service to the columns of that admirable
caricaturist, Punch. But as regards authorship, we have
had to contend with difficulties of two classes—the manifest
unfitness of many works offered for our acceptance ; and the
refusal of some authors io permit a perusal of their MSS
without a guarantee of performance.
Now, as no opera can be prodaeed without several weeks'
rehearsal, to the exclusion of all else, and the outlay on
every new work varies from £2,000 to £3,000, while the risk
of failure is trebled if a story be unpopular, it can be well
imagined that under these circumstances we may have un-
wittingly offended many authors, and missed some works
which might have been successful.

Lilaeraloffers:have been made to every male Binger of
eminence; and if these have been unwilling to join the
company, we surely cannot bo blamed for not having scoured
their services.

At the close of our career we may mention with pleasure
______

.* The "Crown Diamonds," " Fra Diavllo," "Huguenots,"
<< frovatore," " Sonnambula," " Daughter of the Regiment,"
&0., bad been already produced elsewhere.
t In these eight seasons we have expended on artists' sa-
laries, au tn orship of libretti and ralalcal copyrights, 'upwards
oi g:00,000.