The New York herald., 1878-08-17
| Briiiian, Oper. season.


efficiency.
A Brilliant Opera season.
The next opera season promises to be q
very brilliant one, and will recall to the
New York public the days when such great
singers as Bosio, Castelli, Salvi. Badiali
and host of others made the Astor House
opera a worthy rival of Covent Garden, the
Sale Ventadour and La Scala. Mr.. Maple
son has been very fortunate in his efforts to
bring first class opera troupe to America,
and, thanks to the liberal terms granted
him by the directors, he has not only Sc
cured some of the first stars OF the operate
constellation of Europe, but he has, whnt Is
more important for the permanent success OF
Italian opera, brought together an excellent
stock company rarely equalled and never
surpassed since the days of the divine
Malibran, who first delighted an Ameri-
can audience before placing herself in Eu-
rope on the highest pinnacle ever reached
by any artist before or since. We are going
to have most complete and perfect orches-
ira, under the conductorship of Arditi,
whose name alone is guarantee for It's ex-
cellence. The chorus will be under Smyth-
son, the able chorus master Of Her Majesty's
Theatre under Sir Michael Costa, and he
will bring with him the elite of the chorus
of last seasons Italian opera in London.
At the last dates Mapleson had engaged
Mile. Gerster, who by many of the first
critics is considered the greatest singer OF
xIo
Patti or Nilsson, and the American public
may we'll congratulate itself that his tact
and enterprise secured that great artist for
them in the face of an offer of five thousand
francs night from Russia. Minnie Hauck.
whose debut in New York some twelve
years ago gave such fair promises which
have since been SO brilliantly verified,
comes back to our shores after having
gained for herself the reputation Of one of
the first prima donnas of Europe, and hav-
ing fulfilled the most successful engage
ments in Berlin, Vienna and London.
mpanini, whose magnificent rendering
of Lohengrin is still fresh in the memo
ries Of our dilettanti, has refused the most
tempting offers from Vienna and st. Peters
burg, and will be our first tenor. The parts
of basso, baritone and contralto will be
equally we'll filled, and we can state upon
the best authority that more complete and
better troupe cannot at tEis moment be
found in any city of Europe, including
Paris and London. Mapleson's company
will probably stand:-
Prime donne .Gcrster, Hauck, vaeria Salla.
Iula
Tenori..... .Campanipi, Runcio
Baritoni. .Gallasss, Del Puente.
Basso ..........cs
Second parts and chorus from Her Majesty's.
The repertoire of these artists is very ex-
tensive, and we are promised the master
works of Mozart, Rossini, Wagner, Meyer
beer, Gounod, Donizetti and Verdi Among
the operas to be given are Faust" 'Lo-
hengrin," "Guillaume Tell, the prophet"
.sRomeo and Juliet" Don Giovanni" ="
Carmen" "AYda." The first season
is to begin in the latter part of October. and
is to continue. as we understand, until
near Christmas, while a second season of
about equal duration is to commence in
| March.
With such an array of talent, and with q
complete orchestra and chorus, aided by q
good stock company for the minor parts, we
may we'll expect to have an opera
| next winter in New York such
as we have not had for years !;
but the question is, Shall this success
be only that Of one season? Shall the few
months of light on the artistic horizon be
the harbnger of brighter days for the fu-
ture, 80 that New York may boast of per-
manent opera to equal those of the great
capitals OF Europe, or shall this attempt
share the fate of its predecessors and fail
like them? The directors and the i'm
presario whose services they have secured
have done their duty; the responsibility of
success lies now with the public and the
shareholders. A generous patronage of the
first and liberal concessions of the latter are
imperatively demanded, and without them
no opera can permanently succeed in New
York. The shareholders, it is to be hoped,
cannot be much longer SO blind as to pur-
sue selfish and shortsighted policy by
which the doors Of the Academy remain
closed, the public deprived of opera and their
property become worthless. Whatever their
vested right as stockholders may be they
must clearly see that apart from any other
consideration dictated by the public spirit
which must animate every good citizen,
self f-interest points to less exacting and
more large-hearted course than that fol-
lowed hitherto.