The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1860-04-06

7 Tne Opere In the RusptGs "a.
The sensation preacher is, like the French
army. party Of attack. In the old times it
was absurdIy supposed that the ministers OF
Christ ought to preach peace on earth good
will TO men. Ii we mistake not, there is q spe
cial command to that effect in book which,
among certain section of the clergy, has gone
out of fashion. Instead of the New Testament,
the sensation preacher picks out the most
bloody aud savage portions Of the Mosaic
CODE admixes with them some choice selec-
tons from the sulphurous dominions OF The
Puritans, stirs in few extracts from the po-
litical platforms Of the day, throws in poor
joke here and there, and winds up by sending
all his hearers to perditon, without the
smallest chance for redemption
OF such order of men seems to be the Rev.
Henry Grattan Guinness, who, after endea-
voring in vain to convert the Irish to Pro
testantism recently came over to the United
States with the laudable intention of informing
all of us that if we are not, at the earliest pos
sible moment, awakened to grace according to
he Guinness pattern, we will be inevitably
damned.
1t was very kind Of Mr.. Guinness to come so
far to tell us all this, and we are very glad to
express the public's gratitude for the reverend
gentleman's generosity and selfsacrifce The
startling intelligence which he conveys has
been listened to with complacency by very large
numbers of people, and among them not a few
of the Opera habitu<s, to whom the Rev. gentle
man paid his especial respects when he
preached at the Academy of Music. The re-.
fined cultivated, and, in many instances, truly
religious persons who enjoy the bird-like scales
of little Patti, or drink in the notes of the
silver voiced Brignoli, were pretty severely
prayed for, after this fashion,
Oh, God this afternoon Of thine own Sabbath day we
meet In place given only TO worldlness, where multi
.udes come continually in whose hearts thy love dwels
not and who know not the exceency OF the knowledge OF
Jesus Christ, Who, instead Of casting the world behind
their back and counting all things for Jesus sake set
their affections upon the things of this world and care
little concerning the things OF eternity Oh. God We
worldly and carNol mirth and amusemea, sohere thy
mentioned at times may De IN SIM ri
ritaldTy, ,ohe7c ny Son not 9lorfed but rdth otew,
times ;ohers eu-n his preessn,s serpan members Of
churches in secret, ,nglirg ,cih the hind mu1t
de, Mastering in ignorance douD the broad road a 'edd'
to hell. .... ..-....
We very much fear that Mr.. Guinness knew
nothing of the merits of the question upon
which he passed. The Academy of Music
and the profane play house are quite
different things from each other. AT least
they are so held to be by liberal Christians in
all parts of the world. Music is the gentle and
soothing sacrifice which the religion of peace
and truth and love offers to the God of the New
Testament dispensation-t God who is all
good. 1t is music and its influence which have
given to the holy Catholic Church its great as
tendency. Even the most callous of infdels,
the worst of doubters, or the most determined
of heretics, is insensibly awed as the solemn
tones of the grand mass roll through the cathe-
dral aisle. The operas contain great deal of
the music originally written for the Church.
Nearly all the distinguished composers of pro-
fame music have contributed the early efforts of
their genius to the Church, and have repro
duced them in their works for the stage. As
for profane ribaldry, the idea is absurd. Any
such thing in a ibretto would be expunged
before the opera was produced, and if intro
duced by an artist (and they are generally
prime Catholics), would be severely punished
and atoned for in sackcloth and ashes
But Mr.. Guinness is evidently ignorant of all
these facts, and belongs to the ancient order
of things. His idea of sacri6cial offering is
that of blood. His God is an avenging deity
that must be appeased by slaughter. He is q
sanguineous shepherd, this Guinness, and is at
least two thousand years behind the age.
Notwithstanding, however, the infection Of
major. accommodation upon the sinners who
resort to Irving place, it will open its doors
again to saints as well as to sinners, and the
Opera will 60 on just the same as ever. That
suspicious event, the first night of the season,
Is very properly fixed for Easter Monday
when the fashionable world will come out in
its spring attire, and duly refreshed by Lenten
abstinence. The opera will be Rossinis ever
charming Barber" with Patti, one of the
most beautiful Rosinas, and Brignoli, the best
of Almavivas Our prima donna, Adeline Patti
has come back from series of grand triumphs
the .farore created by her in the provinces be-
ing even greater than in the metropolis. The
Academy will present magnificent array Of
fashion and beauty on Monday. The bellies
and beaux of Manhattan will be reinforced by
numerous importations from the rural dis
tricts, North, South, East and West. After a
few weeks there will be, in spite of the Rev.
Mr.. Guinness, an infusion of religious people,
who come to town to attend the anniversary
meetings, and pay visit or two at the Opera,
not secretly but openly and in the face
of the world. They will not 60 to the theatre,
but they look upon the opera music as more or
less religious, on the principle of Lorenzo
Dow, who sang hymns to profane airs so that
the devil should not monopolize ell the best
tunes As for the words of the opera, people
generally don't know what they mean, and SO
they are Of no earthly consequence. To four
ffths Of the audience an opera is nothing more
than costume concert