The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-02-08

NNSDAY. FEBRUARY 3,
4 rt.ssN, Opsrs ssa the OfSEs cohiqSs--
More A~use.aens nor the metropolis.
The rise and progress Of the Opera in this
country win supply fine subject, some day or
| other, for q very adhcirable book. Five or six
years ago the Opers was BY no means popular
even in this metropolis. People had to be
fairly coaxed or driven to the Academy. A
beggarly array Of empty boxes was the GUS
tomary entry upon the in.presscrio's account
| book. Occasionally there would be rush for
seats and q great crowd; but ordinarily tho
audiences were select and few. Now all this
Is changed. Every performance at the Academy
draws good house. II seems impossible to
keep the people away. 1.-THE manager cannot
wittly observed whom reviewing the demerits
Of one Of the singers. The provinces, which
take their tone from the metropolis, are becom-
Ing equally liberal patrons fart From Phila-
delphIa to Chicago, every city Of any size has
its Opera House, and it Is always well attended.
Indeed, we know Of few stronger evidences OF
the rapid advance which this country has made
during the last ten years than the universal
popularity, in spite of our civil war, Of this
most refined and most expensive Of amasementa
But now that New York has gone 50 FIR and
the provincial cities are following 90 closely
upon her footsteps, Il b quite tine that we
should go further and fare better. Paris ID not
only the metropolis Of France but Of all Eu-
rope and in the same sense New York is the
metropolis of this continent One opera house
should not suffice for US, since even Brooklyn
can afford that In point Of fact, we have in
this city sufficient material for at least two
opera companies at present, and reinforcements
are constantly arriving. Several impressarii.
too, are in the field; but they have no place in
which to pitch their tents, and are compelled to
90 wandering around the country, camping
here and there as chance or policy may dictate.
The manager who secures our Academy, no
matter how unskilful he may be or how weak
company he may have, is practically master
of the situation. He has, in effect, monopoly
Of the metropolis. There are our theatres, to
be sure; but few Of them are to be obtained
for operate purposes at the proper sea-
son Of the year. and none Of them have
the indispensable acoustic requisites. Under
these circumstances our opera goers have only
the choice Of the famous Hobson. It is the
Academy or nothing. At this present writing
there is French opera company, of whose
merits we know nothing, actually prowling
about the city seeking some hall in which to
sing. Foiled at every point, they have even en-
tertained insane ideas of immigrating to Brook
lyn, Williamsburg, Hoboken, Jersey City or
Staten Island, to find room in which to MARBLE.
This state Of affairs should not be allowed to
continue, and we are happy to repeat our an
nouncement that another opera house will soon
be erected in this city. The sooner the better
for art and for our public.
"A suitable plot of ground has already been
secured for the new Opera Comique. This site
is in the upper part of the city, several blocks
above Fourteenth street, and opposite one Of
our most remarkable public buildings We
leave to imagination the pleasing task Of de-
Gliding upon the exact location, which we are
not yet at liberty to announce, lest we should
raise the price Of building lots in that vicinity.
The edi6ce will be much smaller than the
Academy Of Music, and will include q porte,rs,
three tiers Of comfortable private boxes
and q splendidly arranged foyer for pro-
menades and conversation between the acts
The p0rtsyrs will be for gentlemen and
the private boxes for parties. The per
formances will consist Of comic operas, in
French, and French vaudevilles, on alternate
nights. If any impressario may chance to have
an Italian opera company which he wishes to
introduce to our public, in spite of the Academy
monopoly, he can be accommodated at the
Opera Comique. The interests Of M. Juignet's
French comedy company will be by no means
overlooked. We have no doubt that, from the
very first night, the Opera Comique will be
most fashionable and most successful. 1t will
bear the same relation to the Academy as the
Gymnase, at Paris, does to the Theatre Fran
Gals, where only classical plays are produced.
Such an establishment appears to US an abso-
lutte necessity in New York. There are a
thousand considerations in its favor, and not
one has yet been urged against it 1t will give
us standard by which to Judge not only our
operate, but our theatrical performances 1t
will Immediately become fashionable centre,
miniature Paris in America. We urge the
gentlemen connected with this enterprise to
push it forward vigorously, SO that the Opera
Comique may be inaugurated, with appropriate
ceremonies, by this time next year. Colonel
David Crockett's motto was, "Be sure you're
right, then 60 ahead" About the entire sue
cess Of the undertaking there can be no doubt,
and there should be no delay in its vigorous
prosecution.
THE STATE OF THE WoRLD.-Of the thousand
| millions Of people who inhabit the globe, d.
vided into more than hundred different ma