New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1866-06-02
REBUILDING OF TIKI ACADEMY OF
MUSIC.

ject Of absorbing public interest. Its future Is 80
bound up with the elegant social amusements oil the
people that intense anxiety is felt lest plans ior
its reconstruction should be hastily chosen that
the imperative requisites for such building might
be partially overlooked.
The points for the Directors to secure before accept
ing any plan are, first the proper size of the house;
then the comfort convenience and safety Of the audi
ence; perfect system Of light and ventilation and
acoustic eTeot and finally, the proper proportion OF
the auditorium and stage to each other
The late Academy could seat, somehow and some
whore, 900 people more than ever visited 1.-THE
huge, unsightly amphitheater being superfuous and
entirely useless. Two thousand five hundred seats
are sufficient for every demand that will be made
upon an opera-house for some years to come, save
in remarkable aud exceptional cases, and we are
satisfied that if the $500 seats were once Sold at the
prices recently prevailing, the receipts would be
double the cash returns ever recorded on the books
| of the Academy of Music. We therefore want
house to hold $500 people, and no more.
The comfort and convenience of an audience cannot
be too carefully provided for The seats in themselves
should be wider and the distance between the rows OF
seats should be At least half as much again
afforded in the late Academy The space should be sui
cient to permit of passing along rows, without dSar-
ranging the costumes Of the ladies seated. Such an
arrangement would secure at once comfort and easy
access and esress.
The safety of an audience in case of sudden alarm
from fire or any other cause is o consideration of the
most vital Importance. The egress from the old par
auet was difficult in the extreme. Had the late fire
broken out half hour earlier on the spot where it was
first seen, hardly woman could have escaped from
the place alive There vas separate exit, and added
TO the extreme difficulty Of extrcating ample robes
from between the narrow seats the passage-wayi were
narrow and led through the crowded boxes, so that
tho most fatal confusion must have attended any at
tempt to escape from the parquet in haste.
The ground upon which the new Academy will
stand affords every facility for securing the safety Of
the audience. Ample doors could be made, leading
directly 10 the wax on Fourteenthst and on an alley
way toward Fi.tecuth-st. Such an alley existed
between the old Academy wall and the next house.
The groups OF seats in the parquet and circle should
only accommodate some six or eight so that they
could be vacated in al instant. These precautions,
with wider aey.ways from the paquet to the circle,
would enable an audience to escape in sn
incredibly short space of time. The upper circles,
having each their separate proof stairways, would
secure the safety Of the entire audience One other
point would complete tie precautionary steps; the
iron wire fire.proof curtain used in Boston, and else
where abroad which secures the auditorium from any
accident arising on the stage.
The present system Of Lighting thea,ers il en-
trsly wrong The flaming, 1ariDg gss-lights are I'M
pleasant and injurious to the eyes; the smell from
them is frequently offensive; and they add large
amount Of heat, which il il impossible to control.
The system adopted abroad Of lighting from
the roof is superior in several respects The
ceiling Is made of ground or stained glass; over which
are placed gaslghts powerfully reflected. The light
Is COOL pleasant aud ample, and sequally distributed.
II does not weary the eyes while il is favorable both
to complexion and costume-ponts not to be over
looked il an operate establishment. Another and
important advantage OF this method Of Lighting is
that. by means Of ornamental openings in the glass
ceiling, with tho heat concentrated above, perpetual
vacuum is created. and thorough and healihiul
ventilation must ensue.
On the points Of sight aud hearing, the course 70
bc pursued is simple and direct. Abclishing the
amphitheater viii necessarily reduce the hight OF
tho building will increase its acoustic properties,
and materially lessen the abors Of the singers The
horseshoe shape must DO modified so ss to admit Of
clear line Of sight to the stage from every part of
the house. Thcre should be no pillars. The circles
should recede tier above tier, each resting sub
stantal party walls. This is no experiment. it has
been practically demonstrated; and the result Is two
fod-rom every point Of the house the sight is clear
Of all distractions and there no covered depths
TO smother sound the acoustic properties equally
excellent in all parts OF the auditorium.
To render the new Academy Of Music what il should
be- and what the public expects it will be- all the
points We have mentioned should be clearly demon
strated in the plans aud practically carried oct.
While the new French Theater IL deficient in venta-
ton and glarng in light its internal arrangements for
personal comfort convenience and safety arc admi-
rable in the extreme.
The reduction Of the size Of the auditorium will az
ford TO the Academy more stage-room. This WAS
much needed in the old house, and should certainly DO
secured in the new building, in order to give due
sage.room for extensive scenic effects The old Acad
envy was very much smaller than any of the principal
opera-houses OF Europe. The Academic Of Paris
coyers over 900 square feet, while the Academy in
Fourccnth-st. covered but little over $4,000 square
feet, LAcaden,ie deyo;es more than onc-haf OF that
area to stage purposes, whjie our Academy spared
bat little over a third
We commend all the points we have enumerated to
the attention Of the Directors Before accepting any
plan presented, let them weigh well what we have
written Unless the plan embodies all these points,
the new Academy may be accepted by The public
but it will fall short of perfection, and the Directors
will err from carelessness and negligence; for they
will not have the excuse Of ignorance of the right
course to be pursued TO shield them from the ccnsure