The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1885-12-12
BT0adbPim'S New York Letter.
Special to the CAnRox ADVOCATE.

Special to the CARBON ADVOCATE.
We are now in the height of the fash
ionable season, and the round of our
winter parties is in full blast. Among
the consultations of this joyous season., is
the fact, that for time at least: if not
forever, we have got rid of that insuifer-
able, vain, rompous, self-suf1icient
musical nuisance, Colonel Mapleson of
Her Majesty's Opera. We have had
many musical and dramatic Affections.
but nothing that would compare with
this blatant braggart. Season after
season he has been promising what he
was going to do, and season after season
the public have been disappointed.
Nothing but the competition of Mr..
Abbey induced Mapleson to engage
Patti. Patti who knew her man, and
who is one of the great singers that
never get left; tied Mapleson up with
an iron-clad engagement compelling
him to put up $50, ,000-to remain as Sc
curity for her last four nights-he pay
ing her $4,000 night for fifty nights
engagement. The rivalry between the
New Metropolitan Opera House and the
Old Academy of Music was exceedingly
bitter, and was ruinous to both. The
Academy's hackers We're represented
| among the Astors and Goelets, and half
the solid men of Wall Street. The
Metropolitan Opera House received aid
and comfort from the Goulds, the Van
derbilts, and plenty of other capitalists,
whose bank accounts are good for mil
lions, and when they GO in for their
pleasures, never stop to count the cost.
1t was Il fight of blue blood against
ducats. and ducats won though the blue
blood had plenty of gildcd backing. The
Metropolitan Opera House was FORUM
ate in its manager; Mr.. Abbey was a
| man who haG most sacred idea of en-
gagements, and who as far as krown
| had never knowingly broken one. lie
had nerves OF steel, and all the qualities
that make bold and fearless leader.
/ lie was thoroughly posted in dramatic
| matters, but he had never had ANYTHING
to do with Opera. His arrangements
| were on scale of magnilicence that had
| never been seen in tins country before.
| and Mapleson to counteract the tremen-
/ dous pressure was compelled to engage
/ Patti. Patti knew that she had the
gallant Colonel of Her Majesty CON
| tingent liz an exceedingly tight place,
and she squeezed him dry He had no
money OF his own 10 put up, if he has
any; he generally succeeds in getting
some frightened stockholder to put up
| for him. The result OF that season was
| that both managers were ruined, and
/ the only persons who profited by the
/ rivalry were the costly singers, who
were engaged at eXOrbitant salaries
/ ranging from $1,000 to $1,000 a night.
/ Abbey paid every dollar of his debts
but had sunk a clear hundred thousand
| IN tho venture; MaplCson had disbursel
a heap of other peoples money, and
came out owing everybody. and finally
! left the county followed by the curses Of
( hungry ballet girls and ragged choris-
ters.. We tlattered ourselves from the
manner Of his mgloriuuS exit, that we
had seen the last Of him, but he turned
up this season, smilingand as impudeut
as ever. lie had now no opposition i'm
Italian Opera, and supposed that he
| like Robinson Crusoe was monarch of
all he surveyed, but a new opera had
sprung up, the effect of which he never
dreamed, and that was the German
Opera. For the last ten years Theo-
dore Thomas mas been educating us in
Wagner, Die Walkure Tannenhauser.
Lohengrin and The FLYING Dutchman.
have been sapping the foundations of
Lucia de Lammermore. Norma, Troya-
tore and Irviata. The late Doctor
Damarosch was among the first to grasp
the situation, and he persuaded the |
Metropolitan directors to allow him to
organize a German Opera Company.
The doctor besides being a great musi- |
clan was perfect devotee of his art
with grant of unlimited power no
wonder that he brought together such a |
company as this country had never seen
before We have had great individual |
artists but no such ensemble, and our |
people awakened to the fact-lhat Ital- |
ian Opera did not cngross the entire /.
music of the world.
The experiment which resulted iR the |
successful transplanting TO the Ameri- |
can continent of German Opera killed |
poor Doctor Damarosch. The Germans 1
of New York are a very wealthy and in /
tluential body-they love music and |
their patronage alone would have sup
ported q respectable German Opera-but .
TO sustain il on its present scale of mag
uiicence needed outside aid, and that .
was Immediately forthcoming. The eN- I.
pertinent which cost Doctor DamarOsch .
his life, established German Opera as q
permanent institution In New York. and F.
the son worthily wiclds the baton which .
che father laid down a year ago. While
we have no phenomenal singers I'm the
AnfrDuDltfYu InuDauN.-- all mo r.t.N -