The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-01-13

The ITALIAN OflRA-A New PLAN FOR IN
REGENERATION can be no doubt that the
Italian Opera is the most elegant graceful, re-
fined, artistic and intellectual of public enter
tainments If we call this city metropolis we
must have the Opera without it, we are only
villagers 1t is an absolute necessity for the
fashionable world. Stop the Opera for SIX
months, and we should have frightful record q
suicides among the higher classes All the old
and young M'F'limseys in the Fifth avenue.
Madison square, and elsewhere would be asphyx-
iating themselves with charcoal, drowning
themselves among their gold fish, hanging them
selves with their bell pulls impaling themselves
upon their bodkins piercing their carotid arte-
ries with their crochet needles, or slowly starv-
ing to death by refusing to take supper at even
ing parties. Look at it, for q moment: The
young women have nothing to wear the young
men have nothing to say, and the old ladies
have nothing to do. The Opera is the only re-
lief from this hopeless ermui. Nobody has any
money to give parties worth going to, and over
the doors of the drawing rooms might properly
be affixed the motto of Dante for the Internal
regions.
This theory, that the Opera is necessity, h
fully understood in all the great capitals of Eu-
rope. In Paris, Milan, Berlin and Vienna the
governments give the managers subventions
varying in amount from fifty thousand to one
hundred and twenty thousand dollars Per
annum. In London the aristocracy pat
down at least fifty thousand dollars cash
before the Opera season commences. We have
nothing of the kind here-on the contrary, the
manager is obliged to give, every night
two hundred free seats to the persons whe
would otherwise be the best paying patrons Of
the Opera. He has no subvention or subscrip-
ton to fall back upon, but must take as heavy
expenses, proportionately, as any of the foreign
houses with no specie reserve to fall back
upon. He always has large floating debt
with no sinking fund, or, rather, with all his
funds sunken. We perceive that the director
of the French Opera at New Orleans has gotten
himself into this difficulty. 1t is the old story
singers scarce-salaries too hgh-times hard,
and some of the leading nightingales sick
moulting perhaps-and cannot sing. So the di-
rector has arranged what the French call .
tombola, and puts up the seats and boxes a.
prizes in a lottery, from the proceeds Of which.
when the nightingales get well, he may be able
| to go on.
Now, what we want in New York is a similar
coup de theatre to provide sinking fund for the
manager of the Opera We suppose that our
Legislature would not permit lottery Of any
sort, for the best purposes; but there would be
no harm in legalizing five or six masquerade
balls during every season. These balls should
not be permitted to be given IN any
other place but the Academy Of Mu-
sic, which Is chartered institution,
and therefore entitled to peculiar privileges.
Many years ago there were some splendid mas
! querade balls given at the old Park theatre |;
but there being no law restricting them to any
particular localities, they were run down by
being given in taverns, halls, hotels-large and
| small-and all sorts of houscs We would have
the privilege of giving the balls restricted to
the Academy; and the arrangements should be
made under the strict supervision Of the police
aided by a special posse of divines-say ten
clergymen-selected from all Evangelical de-
nominations in good standing. The police
could keep sharp lookout for the pickpockets,
while the reverend specials kept watch and
| ward over the movements of Satan, and see
that none of their tender lambs went sstrsy
into the camp of the wolves.
Under such auspices, with the charm of
novelty, excitement and vssiety, there can Be
no doubt that the masquersdes would be o
grand success. They would bring all classes Of
society together, and allow an opportunity for
any quantity of fun and frolic, without rowdy-
Ism, immortality, or excess of any kind. They
would, moreover, result In handsome profit
for the manager-sustain the Opera, and ssve
the fashionable world from the awful alterns-
| tive-suicide, or life Of blank despair. Pips
k bal masqu<!