The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-07-12
The Triumph and Reign of Opera BouAs

The next Utilization of the popular taste for
amusement is to be the 'Barbe Bleue, opera
5oute by Offenbach, which is to be presented
by Bateman and his favorite artists in the late
home of those frippery splendors the white
Fawn" and the ''Black Crook. Now the
''Barbe Bleue" represents third stage in the
development of French fancy before our
city footlights. 1t is a little better
that is, a little worse-than its pre-
decessors The Duchess was dainty
piece of deviltry 1t had suggestion in
it, but presented with such art, such exquisite
drollery, such taking humor, that no o. Q had
the impudence to be virtuous The belle
Helene" was perceptibly broader and still at
tractive. 1t was kind of vice that men could
embrace without the. probationary familiarity
that the rhyme supposes. 1t was a story COM
mended to thought by the happy negations Of
wit Here on one hand, is the old rigmarole,
tedious with its two thousand years of repeti-
ton more or less, as Homer told it, with
Achilles for it's Hero, Agamemnon and Meme
laus for great men, Helen for its decetful
woman and Paris for slippery rascal, and wit
jumps up and says to all this, III don't believe
it, and then presents a new version, in which
the loud words of Achilles make him mere
bully the tameness of Menelaus presents him
as simpleton, and Helen is justified for pre-
ferring handsome fellow of spirit in Paris.
All this covers the moral and makes story fiji
for ears polite from simple case of seduction;
and the French language, be it said, covers many
covert phrase and sly dig at decency that
people would hardly tolerate in English 1t is
the case of Tom Hoods deaf old gammer toss
ing pence to the sailor for his song
Only think of tossing copper
To Tom or Jack with a timber HE'D.
Who looks as If he were singing a hymn
Instead Of song that's very improper.
Now, having digested the duchess" and
''Helen, we are to have ''Blue Beard, which is
little stronger, and thus we see that the world
moves. How Mortified simple people were
when artists that had charmed Europe first
tried our stage; when Vestris, Celeste and
Elssler came, in the confidence of assumed
victories won in Europe, before audiences
whose modesty was not feeble valetudinarian
trembling at every trifie How eagerly the
toilet was discussed then, and especially the
length of the skirts, and what an awkward
creature Ellsler looks like now in the old
prints, comparing her skirts with the skirts CD
they wear in some of our modern ballets How
bravely we have gotten over our primitive
objections with our hundred nights of the
naked truth and our hilarious revels in French
fancy. London has gotten over some objec-
- har ole nd tatI MIC,
ing, churchgoing, sermonizing John Bull
has looked on approvingly and smiled
tremendously on Schneider-the wickedest,
archest daintiest piece of Partisan art
sent over to tempt him in Ofenbach's
music and knock about his ears all his old pet
notions about what is correct, you know
We shall go on in the same direction. We
shall laugh more delightedly over opera boufe
the coming winter than we did last winter, and
shall have more provocation. We shall have
it from Bateman at Niblo's, from Grau at the
French theatre, from somebody else, perhaps,
at Pkes-three or four companies with opera
boute at once. Everything else will be dead
Italian opera dead as stone Memnon buried
in the mud Of the Nile or the sands of the
desert; legitimate drama dead as dozen
marble monks in as many old Gothic ruins Of
churches. Even the naked drama gives no
promise. There is life in nothing now but
opera boute, and from this present stage Of
dramatic vitality what comes next? Is this
the end of the career? From having the taste
cloyed with this sort of delight do people come
back to desire for thought, language and
passion on the stage, or must we go still
further for that?