New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-07-25
CHANGES AT THE ACADEMY.


COMPLAINTS ATTRIBUTED TO Mr.. MAPLFsoNs
FmENDs-NKw SEATS AND BOXES 10 BE Put IN
Friends of Mr.. Maplcson. the well.known man
ager of Her Macstv's Opera, say that he is AT
variance with the directors of the Acadeiny OF
Music and that the directors agreed TO pulld new
balcony around the building IN order that tue
extra price gained for tho seats in II might compen,
safe the manager for the loss on the stockholders
seats for which he receives nothing; that extra
rows of parquet seats were to he ADDED, ana ABOUT
forty or iifly balcony seats, the extra seats
costing the stockholders nothing and enabling thc
manager to carry on his business with some chance
of profit Mr. Maplesons friends say further tiat
the committee o. the Academy of Music now wishes
TO construct some proscenium boxes In lieu OF me
promised balcony seats, and to sell those boxes Ior
the benefit of the stockholders thus not Only ne
privipg Mr.. Mapleson of the extra seats but Great
ing part stockholders. and consequently decreasing
the number OF the paying SUBSCRIBERS. nus ,; Ut
ia NJ The uns5ot Of the matter according to
these persons. that the alterations proposed on
one side the other, will not he carried out at ALL
and that the Academy committee must either pro-
vide further accommodations or put up with opera
of the second class =,
TO n TRIBUNE reporter. gentleman prominently
connected with the Opera House management hllu
Yesterday that these statements were full OF mac
curacIcs, and he surprised that any OF MI.
Mapleson's friends should ma IKE such assertions.
ave have heard no such complaint from MI
MapleSon himself" said he, g and the arrangements
were thoroughly understood before he sailed Tor
England He himself suggested several alteration )
which we are now making. There was nothing
said about a new balcony. but he spoke OF new
boxes and these we are now building. There are
to he SIX more boxes on either side OF the Artists
boxes mp stairs carrying them down to the prosce-
MUM boxes These new boxes will contain SIX
seats each, and rent for So to $50 apiece. Their
construction takes out few worthless seats, which
were of no benefit to Mr MaplesOn.
"Therc are also to be two additional rows OF
seats in the parquet. making total of sixty seats
thirty on each row, which rent for 81. and per
haps So 90 apiece from . so TO about 500 q
night for all. We are working on them now. and
they will lie ready by October, when our contract
with Nj MaplcsOn begins. He Is of course, TO re-
ceivc the extra rental.
"The expense of these alterations will he large
not less than $1,000. We have also given Mr.
Mapleson the rent of the binding free, so il cannot
truly be said that the alterations cost the stock
holders nothing. We have done all we could for
Mr. Mapleson and / am ut loss to understand
why any should make such a statement as the
one referred to-"
A good many persons were dissatisfied because
they could not obtain seats at the opera. and the
object of the managers Is of coarse to acconodate
others and TO end the cause of dissatisfaction. said
another man familiar with the affairs Of the Acad-
e,uy If