New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1843-12-07


or private. The cost of the three volumes, (oi
which only the first issued is but SIX dollars
We are sure it will be received with eager avidity
BY the literary public.
ITALIAN OFEaA HOUSE, IN NEW oRK.-Wc
notice that an Opera House situated at the Cham
berstreet Baths is advertised TO be opened in
January, and to be capable of holding one thou
sand persons.
We were sorry to sec this announcement on
several accounts. First--it will be a losing con-
Germ. Our people are amazingly ignorant of the
financial state of Opera Houses in Europe Lon
don-one Of the largest Cities of the world, and
containing larger class of wealthy, pleasure
seeking persons than any other-bare!y sustains
one Italian Opera House. II but little more than
lives when the admittance TO the pit is two dol
lars.
1t is often askcd--Why cannot an Opera be
sustained here as well as IN Italy We do not
know a single Opera House in Italy that sustalns
itself-while we do kn0w many that live only by
approximations from ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
either from the Royal Family or the City Au-
thoritics.
Yet if they can live any where, they ought to
live in Italy for in the first place, the operas are
in the language of the country, and hence must
be more impressive to Italians than they can be to
us. In the second place, the Italians are mu-
sic-loving people, and viii starve their stomachs
10 listen to good music. 1t is no uncom-
mon thing to hear people of the lowest class, and
even sailors, singing through the streets at mid
night, snatchcs from the most beautiful portions
of Beini and Rossini. In the third place, Prima
Donnas can be obtained there for q mere moiety
of what our theatres are compelled to give. Now
if, under all these advantages, Opera Houses arc
compelled to be sustained in Italy by the patro.
mage of Government, we think it is very safe to
predict that the Company which invests money
in them here will find it a losing concern.
Besides all this, many of the Italian Operas
not only pay nothing for their igurantes, bat CON-
pei them to furnish their own dresses for the
privilege OF being admitted Oh the boards.
We have mentioned these selfish considera-
tons because many men have but one nerve, VIZ
that which runs through the pocket. But we
have another more serious objection the Opera
and Ballet go together the world over; and
thing more pernicious in its tendency than tue
Ballet cannot well be introduced among us. 10
say nothing OF the multitude Of young glrls 1t
ruins 70 keep up full corps, its exhibitions, IN
this country at least, cannot but have most I'M
moral tendency. We envy not our Travelled Ia
dies the acquired GOODNESS with which they look
on the free display of limbs OF their own sex IN
the ballet. We should be sorry to see our Amer
lean ladies so az fat in foreign customs that
they can look with the unblushing front OF an
Italian lady on all the performances OF an ltaiian
opera. house Its effect is not so bad IN Italy, Tor
1t has become custom of the country, whose
customs are somewhat loose in more than one
respect. But TO become popular here would re-
quirc moral change that every thoughtful man
would deprccatc. Besides we are confident that
twothirds of the pretended love for the Italian
opera in our country is the merest attectat!on IN
the world Unable to understand single word
of the play, performed, as 1t is, by third or
fourth rate company, nothing but WISH TO DC
very iereign or recherche IN our taste could m
ducc us to profess an ccstatic delight IN It, This
unnatural! effort on the part Of certain class OF
New. Workers to ape customs that, even if harm
less, are entirely unodapted to our institutions
and national character, has made US "a laughing
stock over the water. Boston shows vastly more
sense in this respect than ourselves, and hence is
acon;r;no an individuality of character III Europe
1hnt no other A American city POSSESSES.