The sun., 1902-01-27
WHERE STALL THE PRINCE SIT?
GALA NIGHT AT OPERA LEADS
TO DISCUSSION.

Surrendering Their boxes Mayors
Committee Are 10 Meet To-day
Representatives OF the Owners OF
the opera House and Of MIR. Grau.
Where shall Prince Henry of Prussia
ait at the gala performance Of opera on
Tuesday Feb. 252 The Prince being the
guest Of the city, and IL being desired TO
have a brilliant night OF opera as a feature
of his entertainment, a committee repre-
sen,ing Mayor Low has begun negotiations
looking to a performance in which all the
artists of the Maurice Grau Opera Com
pany shall appear on that night.
As is well known the parterre boxes,
owned by the stockholders and used by
them and the persons whom they permit
10 hire them on certain nights. differ from
the so-called grand tier boxes, a story
higher up in the building, 10 which the pub
lie are allowed 20 subscribe. According to
report in circulation yesterday the ope-
ratio entertainment OF Prince Henry was
10 he undertaken by the Metropolitan Opera
and Real Estate Company, the Maurice
Grau Opera Company, through Mr.. Grau,
having declined TO be responsible for it.
further than that all the artists Of that
company will appear in the programme.
The reason given was the difficulty of
deciding where the royal party should sit.
From five TO seven boxes, with six seats
each, II was thought. would accommodate
them. If stockholders' boxes In the horse
shoe were TO he selected where should the
displaced stockholders CO. and how should
the matter he settled? To put the Prince
further upstairs might be thought in
decorous.
Apparently the question has not been
decided yet The report that Mr.. Grau
had declined TO he responsible for the
management Of the performance was
denied last night both by George G. Haven.
President Of the Metropolitan Opera and
Real Estate Company. and by Mr.. Grau.
Mr. Haven said that il was absurd, as no
arrangements had yet been made. He
ead that if the stockholders gave the per-
formanoe they would probably engage
Mr Grau 20 take charge Of IL for them and
pay him for it. while II Mr.. Grau gave the
performance, he would undoubtedly sell
tickets as usual, but that nothing had been
determined, as there had been no nego-
tations regarding details yet. The Mayors
committee has planned TO meet representa-
tives OF both opera companies to-day or
this evening. IL was not possible TO at
tempt to say what the stockholders would
or would not be willing 10 do. as to their
boxes at this time, as they had not been
asked yet what their wishes or ideas were.
For himself. he said that he had no further
knowledge in the matter.
Mr.. Grau said that beyond the fixing OF
the date nothing had been done as yet
regarding the arrangement ofthe gala night.
or could I've done until the meeting Of the
Mayors committee and the opera repre-
tentatives this evening. One OF the stock
holders Of the Metropolitan Opera and Real
Estate Company told q reporter for THE
sUg yesterday that he saw no impropriety
in the representative Of the German royal
house going aloft.
In the first place he said. 'the Prince
viii get very much better idea of the
society Of New York by sitting one tier
higher uo than II he had a partsrre box.
The horseshoe of boxes full of women
beautifully dressed will b. much more
impressive II he looks down at them than
81 be- should sit on leyel. Hs would
have a fine view Of the parterre from the
royal boXes upstairs and the stockholders
would not h. oompelled 60 crowd together
IN the boxes that bslong to them. Then
b might h. quite impossible for the stock
holders Co arrange schema - crowd
together
1h,s stockholdsr said n Sas quite true
that n notus small German noiilo came 90
tlr ulefa that night a. the gtls-t 1t a stuok-
holder ho might b. srat-d iu tho most
'a..u-lyo part ~ tue hulsr. while the
uflthof Il thr kmiHrIr ~as q hight higher
up blt lr thought iu rloh a. arrange
nlrn' un slight t1 10" ,isiting Pms" would
o. Involved and that tlis ruyai pafty 81 uuld
h. 4Y.ts as sell satisnud uIsiaIfn