The Savannah morning news., 1903-02-22
NEW YORK TOPICS
NEWS AND VIEWS GATHERED IN
THE METROPOLITAN CITY.

THE METROPOLITAN CITY.
The Future of Grand Opera in New
York, Now That 1t Has Been Def
nIteIy Decided That Heinrich Con-
ried Shall Succeed Maurice Gran
As ImpressariO At the MetrOpOI-
itan-What COnried Is That GrauIs
NOt-the Chief Strength of Grau Is
His Ability to See the Commercial
Value of An Opera or a Singer.
Conried's Strength Lies in His
scholarship and His Artistic Quail
tiles.
New York, Feb. 21.-The selection of
Heinrich Conried to be manager of the
Metropolitan Opera House for five
years, because of the illness of Maui
rice Grau, has been the cause of an
enormous amount of discussion. And.
although the selection was made
week ago, the discussion is growing,
rather than subsiding.
Furthermore, though Mr.. Conried's
success as manager of the most i'm
portant German theater outside the
Emperor Williams domains has been
unquestioned, there is quite as much
criticism of the selection as common
dation.
It is the friends of Walter Dam
rosch, who wanted the opera house
the criticism. They are genuinely sore
about the turning down of their IA
vorite and their bitterness has led
them to statements that are undigni-
fed. to say the least. Some of them
are almost threats.
But this sort of thing will do no
harm. Whether Conried shall or shall
not win in his ambition to carry on
high-class opera successfully in New
York rests with him entirely. Running
an opera house is exactly like running
a grocery store in one respect. The
customers must be pleased with the
goods offered or the enterprise spells
failure. Mr.. Grau is the only impressa-
rio who has ever made money in man.
aging the Metropolitan for any length
of time, and he learned how to do it
chiefly from studying the failures of
earlier managers.
Mr.. Grau had exceptional opportun-
tiles to do this, since he was as3ociat-
ed personally Will IlS uIlCISp al OHCl
attic manager all his life, and also
with Henry f. Abbey, in the operate
firm OF Abbey, Schoeffel & Grau, when
it had the management of the Metro
politan.
Next to Mr.. Grau, Walter Damrosch
has had a wider impressorial experience
than any one else in New York, and,
it may be added, thoroughly success
full one, while Mr.. Conried, though sue
cessful in his own line, has had none
at all.
Whatever may be the outcome of the
Conried experiment, it is already clear
that his plans include a complete trans
formation. Grau won by furnishing
the best singers in the world, bar none.
Conried is going to try the stock com
pany plan, an imitation of the German
way. He is also going to spend a lot
more money in scenery and stage fit
tings. The stage of the Metropolitan is
to be made much larger and otherwise
improved.
To do this he will want more capital,
and the stock of the Grau Opera Com
pany, which was only $150,000, is to be
doubled or trebled, or perhaps multi
piled several times. Everybody be-
lieves that this will be a good thing,
but those who believe that the substi-
tuition of the stock company for the star
system will be successful are in the mi
nority decidedly.
Those who argue for the star system
base their notions upon the circum-
stance that opera in New York, neces-
sarily, must have the support of So
ciety. Society. in New York, as else
where, is made up of the well-to-do
and, according to their critics. they care
more about the price paid for the sing
ers than they do about the harmonious
quality of the performances. That be-
ing the case, the argument continues,
whenever the money expended on stars
drops in quantity, the patronage of the