The Portland daily press., 1878-03-06
IN. Y. Tribune ]
Managers and Critics

Ine r1anagers of the opera company now per-
iormlhg at the Acadamy of Music express great
ulsples.sure at criticism which appeared in
the Tribune last Tuesday morning; and to
% ARK their disapprobation with tthe more en-
phasls, they inform our clerks that thew shall
not advertise their entertainment any more in
provokes the celestial ire:
Wagner's 'sDie Fliegesade Holiander 81 which ,v.s
sung last night at the Academy of Music, was not on
tne whoie& pleasing experience With the exception
with every embeg 1ns o seem @ to have gone very wrong
nelln VINO was the Senta. whsther it was that she
was out os voice OF out of humor. developed capa-
surprising in excellent am artist 14hs was as is Il
was painful. She sang carefully enough,
good. it always Isl but there was fatal incspaei
ty Tor striking the right notes that ruined almost
everything that she did. This may have been the
result OF overwork and fatigue for she has borne the
burden OF the season far, and borne it brayeIy
put 1t was none the less very unpleasant to have to
listen TO- MT. Blum who sang vanderdecken,
lms part, both in acting and singing, and his per-
iormance last nights was smooth, even and generally
crediable, Mr. Frtsch, the Erik, was afflicted with
the prevailing epidemic of singing false but in this
respect he could not compare with Mr. Wiegand the
DsMaland, In,s gentleman thongh his exploits in the
hugenots were decidedly remarkable, fairly out
Qua nimsef; his acquaintance with his part was evil
dhently thIy Of the slightest, and though he groped
before he sang it, it was a matter OF amaze
ment how few of them were right when
W ne uiu sing tnem Ihe chorus was not good, and as
10 the orchestra, 1t managed to make the overture
something very like a burlesque-and the rest Of
its work was to match. To those who were present
at the performance, the announcement ON the pro-
gramme that it was 'the only performance this sea
matter OF regret.
"Lohengrin" will be repeated On wednesdav aod
the frst performance in this country Of Wagner's
"Rienzi' is announced for Friday night
We reprint these remarks because they con-
vey the exact, unvarnished truth. Not only
are tne separate statements strictly true, but
the tone OF the article also is just 1t will be
observed that the critic has not directed his
censures against points of the performance up-
on which there could be difference of tastes
or Intelligent opinions; he has confined him.
sell TO pointing out positive faults of execution;
and ne could not have made his account of the
opera more favorable without falling In his
duty to the public and his own conscience The
merits of Mime. Pappenheim and her compan-
ions nave been cordially recognized by this pa
per from the Ontset; the deficiencies of the COM
pany have been frankly noticed also. The
troupe contains some good material, but it is
lll-organ1zed and half-driled; and it has per-
petrated cevtain musical enormities for which
1T can hardly be blamed too severely.
The miserable tconditon to which the lyric
drama has fallen in this city is in large part
attributable to the demoralizing leDiency shown
Dy good-natured press and public to ineffi-
cheney on the stage and impudence in the
managers room. Opera house, concert room,
sAS"sASt oh ohAO udf0 Dccu luVAQeu Dy preLoQ-
tlous and unblushing Spectators, and because
the American public is tolerant and civil, they
presume that it is Ignorant too. 1t seems to as
tnat II the press has any regard for the ad-
vancement OF genuine art it is bound to treat
such people with wholesome severity. Criti-
c1sm they cannot endure. A plain statement
OF the truth they endure just as little. They
resent both as an Interference with their trade,
and they look upon frank and unprejudiced
newspaper as personal enemy.
We do not intend to apply these remarks to
the impresario OF the Pappenheim and Adams
Company; we do not even know who that per
son is; but we could mention more than one
theatrical manager who has threatened the
tribune with the loss of advertisements if il
did not stop telling the truth; and we think il
would puzzle anybody to find manager who
ever gained anything by such proceeding,
Reputable directors of public amusements un-
derstand very well that advertising is matter
OF business quite as profitable to one side as
the other. They must put their announce
ments where they wish them to be seen; the
paper gives them just what they buy; and they
nave no right to expect, nay, reputable man.
ager do not expect, that q transaction of this
kind will modify, in the slightest degree, the
expression of a critics opinion. At various
times a good many showmeD, of one kind and
another, have taken their advertisements out
of the Tribune because they did not like its
criticisms and could not make use of its critics
Probably they were right. Ii they did not
give such entertainment as the readers of the
Tribune would care to see, it was plainly A
waste of money to put their announcements in
these valuable columns.