New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-04-23

Dramatic aud operate controversies are mat
tiers that do not efsen gain place in these col
umns but there are one or two points 10 the dis
custom between Mr.. w. II. Fry and the Man
sgement of the Academy of Music, of which We
to. day publish another installment, that invite
emphatic comment. 1t seems to be established
that the Management undertook to produce .
new manuscript OratOrio by that gentleman, re-
curing the entire force Of the opera company,
with large additional chorus, and that they
promised to have 1t carefully reheNsed. But
after few partial rehesrsals, on the authors
declar alton that these were not sufficient, and
that the performers were not yet sufficiently &C
auaint ted with the work to do justice TO it or to
Themselves before the public, the Management
broke of the undertaking and determined not to
produce the Oratorio In justification Of this
breach of contract, they allege that, in order to
ntinue the rebearsa's, they must have post
poDed new opera they are preparing, which
mil hit have endangered the pecuniary success" Of
the establishment; and also that when they
agreed to bring out Mr. Fry's Oratorio, they we're
under the belief that only two general rehearsals
would be required. In regard to the first point,
the reply Is that it isvery proper, before We make
a contract to ascertain what effect its perform
ance will have on our affairs generally, but that
it is not generally thought to be right to break Oh
such contract simply because there are difficult
les in its execution. Or, to state the question in
a less commercial manner, when gentleman has
once given his word, he ought 10 hold himself
obliged to keep it, unless released by the party
to whom it is given; and in this case 1t does not
appear that any effort was attempted to obtain
such release.
With regard to the notion that two rehesrsals
would alone be sufficient to prepare for exhibit
ton a new musical work, of so elaborate and
complex nature ss an Oratorio, 1t 10 quite pre-
posterous; and though the experience Of the
Management has not been great, moments re-
Election must have shown them that If such was
their idea. they were expecting an impossibility.
Besides, their own Musical Director had engaged
that the Oratorio should be carefully rehearsed,
and no man knows better than be what
that signifies. On the whole. it does
not appear that the Management has acted in
perfectly manly and creditable way in the prem
ises, and we regret to be obliged to pass such
sentence upon them 10 connection with the first
original work, and by an American composer
too, which they have undertaken to produce.
This we say without any reference to the merit
Of the composition in question:; on that point, We
are perfectly ignorant though, Of course, the
Management, before contracting to bring out
.woIh, must satisfy themselves as to lis quail
IVES.
With regard 70 the humiliatng submission Of
tie Management toward The Herad, we do not
care to speak at any length. On their own con-
essi,p, they have courted the favor CT that sheet
and yet there are but few epithets in the yoc.o'
ulsIy of black guar dism which it has not poured
upon them. There is something degrading 10 q
state Of society in which such servi'y s not ealy
practiced, but publicly avO~ed By persons claim
ing TO be gentlemen. We shoald suppose that
the Directors asd proprietors Of the Musical
Academy would sooner zee the earth open and in
gulph their splendid edifce than see it sustained
by sacrifice which must elicit the contempt Of
every honorable mind.