The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-02-21
MUSICAL AND DRANHATIC.
The RaHlish Opera.


The brief opera season concluded on Satur-
day evening by the performance of The Mar
ridge of Figaro by the Parepa- Rosa troupe was
one OF the most successful ever given In this
city. and II points moral worth needing TO
those managers who wonderingly ask why
Philadelphia will not patronize opera This
query Is propounded by managers and agents
again and again when they find their artists
singing night after night to q beggarly array OF
empty benches, and when it Is suggested that
the public wish to hear good singers and works
that have not been done to death, they retort by
asking whether their scale of prices is not low
enough to compensate for the unsatisfactory
quality OF their performance. The fact is that
there Is an educated musical public In this city
that will pay literally to hear good operas rem
dered In good style by competent singers. This
class of opera patrons not only wish to hear
good performances, but they also wish some
variety, and during the last two seasons man
ayers have filed the Academy and put money
in their pockets by the production
of such works as lie Prophete, William Tell
and The Marriage of Figaro. These works the
public know to be good, and as they had not
been performed for n number of years. there was
a general desire TO hear them and an interest In
them that would not have been felt had they
been among the list of operas that are presented
in almost unyarying succession season after
| season until their very names begin to be bores.
The German troupe, although 1t did not pro-
fess to be first-class one, attracted well-hlled
| houses with The Magic Flute, StrddelLd, and La
| Dame Blanche, for the reason we have men
| TONED, ana III may De CO0SlQcTeu an bbbuEtU
| fact that any reasonably good opera company
| will make money in this city If 1t treats the
| public to standard works of merit that are not
| hackneyed. The following works, for instance,
have, some of them, never been performed here,
| and others have been on the shelf for so long a
time that they would be novelties to the maj ority
| of opera -goers:-Lucid d. Lam1nernoor; La
| GAIA Lddrd; II Lonbdrdi; Puritdni; The
Huguenots; Othello; Maria de Rohdnj SENT
| rd1nide; Czdr and Zinlmer1nonn; Don Carlos;
| Ndbuccu; La Cenerentold, and II Ptrdtd. This
list might easily be extended indefinitely, but it
| will serve to show what the operate managers
do not attempt in the way of pleasing the
public.
| The company that closed its season on Satur-
| day night succeeded because 1t is the strongest
| combination before the public. Two of the lead
ing artists were suffering from severe indisposi-
tion that interfered materially with the effect of
their performances, but in spite of this the en-
tertainments were of most satisfactory char
acter, and the three immense audiences that
were attracted by The Marriage of Figaro indi-
Gated very plainly in what manner the approba-
tion and greenbacks of the public can be
secured. Madame Parepa-Rosa was unable to
prolong her season because of the previous en-
gagement of the Academy for the present week;
but il is understood that she will return shortly,
and place her admirers under additional obliga-
ton to her by producing Webers Oberon and
Mozart's Don Gioudnni The first named of
these works has never been done here, and
there is no doubt that 1t will make great hit.
We are glad to see by a card from the mem
bers of the Richings troupe that there is no in
tention of disbanding at present, and that their
| performances have not been failures as was re-
presented. Mrs. Bernard has worked hard to
establish English opera; she is a conscientious
artist and most estimable lady, and the failure
Of her enterprise at this day would be disaster
that her many friends in this city would deeply
deplore. We have said nothing about the rumol
of failure, hitherto preferring to wait for some
authoritative announcement before discussing
the subject and we are well pleased at thu
prompt contradiction contained in the card re
| ferred to.