The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-11-29

The New Centres Of Opera.
Emerging from our long and expensive war,
we have fallen suddenly into an era of pros
perity, refinement, fashion and extravagant
expenditure A change 80 rapid is without
parallel in the history Of any other nation.
The South Is returning to its former condition
in the Union more BEAUTIFULLY than could have
been imagined. Railroads and steamboat lines
are again restoring communication between
the Northern and Southern States. In the
great West the refnements of metropolitan
civilization are transferred to the centres Of
operate enterprise in Chicago, st. Louis and
Cincinnati, leaving New York entirely in the
background so far as the divine art is con-
cerned. Grau, with his splendid triple COM
pany of fresh young artists, has taken the
palm in Chicago. St. Louis, Cincinnati and
Havana are yet before him, to each of which
he goes in succession, after playing another
season in Chicago in January, when Meyerbeer's
grand work, L'Africaine, will be produced
there with great splendor 1t is probable that
this opera will be given in New York before
it is produced in the West, but in an imperfect
manner; for there are neither the voices nor
the material to bring it out here in first class
style. Such an opera, put upon the stage hur-
riedly and imperfectly, cannot be expected to
come up to the expectations Of critical pub
lie, when we remember that it took eleven
months to rehearse it at the Grand Opera in
Paris, with all the facilities at the command Of
the director, and that nearly four months were
devoted to its preparation at Covent Garden
theatre, London. The Chicago people will
therefore have the advantage of US in hearing
L'Africaine sung by good artists, Of established
reputation, instead of second rate ones, many
of whom were never heard of before, and repre-
scented with scenery and costumes Of the most
perfect and expensive kind.
Manager Grau has shown himself to be the
prince Of impressarios in the sagacity and en-
terprise which he has developed in the engage
ment of his Chicago company. He has secured
q troupe larger than any opera house in Europe
can boast of, and in point Of talent vastly supe-
rior to any artists we have had in this country
for many years. Gazzaniga leads the List, an
artist without rival Noel Guidi, the tragic
prima donna, in the very bloom ofyouth, beau
tiful and silver-voiced, who has won her repu-
taton in all the leading theatres Of Europe,
from Rome to st. Petersburg; and Boschetti,
whom the Italians delight to call the "Queen
of Marguerites"- peerless Marguerite
she is-and who ID equally good in Traviata,
Martha and the Page in Ballo Maschera
as she is in Marguerite, which she studied
under the direction Of Gounod himself; and
AnastasI, with voice like Savi in its purest and
freshest condition, who has been pronounced
the best tenor that has delighted the ears
Of the American public for many day. With
such artists Chicago is favored, and how pitia-
BILE the contrast between the opera as given
there and as we have 1t here! Verify the
West is looming up in the art world, while in
the metropolis opera is falling into decrepi-
tude