The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-30

desirable seats for wednesday, and Fri
days. The fortunate holders Of the sub
scription tickets never give them up now.
Even In the cass Of death they are taken by
the family and sold TO other persons
1t 10 In tho orchestr a rather than In the
boxes that tklFeis such q demand as 10 sug-
gest the nec6tAlty Of another opera house.
Mr.. HamFnerete n seems 10 have had this
idsa In mind. for no purposes 20 ave 100
seats in his orchestra. ,
There was a time when the coveted par
terre boxes at the Metropolitan could be had
at the box ofioe When the owner, whether
IL happened to be a ~stockholder or n
TO whom he had rented his box. decided
that he was not going to the opera he handed
his box over to the man who was In the
habit % 6isrOsiEs u them. One day therS
came to him q he knew. Lots Of
other persons In New York also knew her.
Even the police knew her, although ner
refined appearance did not make her seem
like the sort the police are usually ac-
Quainted with. She wanted to know n there
was TO be q box on sale the next night.
Whom do you want II for2' asked The
ticket seller. TELL me the truth, now
b.s as 'r sSis as am ar isSpdi1 %ll ns be- U s1S
1SOoAAN ~ VS. ~ Shay
two persons in that box. A friend OF mine
from Mexico is very anxious to see the
opera house. There will be only the two
OF us, n you kno how nice I can look
when / want to-
you come around Tomorrow be said,
sand I will let you have one II any comes In.
I am expecting one
The next day the woman got the box.
Nothing more was heard Of her until the
manager rushed into the box of1ce a little
/ aftar q n'Cl0Rk-
who in the world sold the Smith box
tonight" he roared. Let him 60 in there
and take a look"
The ticket "A looked !apprehensiyely
at the box. 1t was fairly OVERCOMING
with femininity. In the middle sat the
woman who had bought the box. She
had brought five others with her. Solomon
In all his glory was never as fine as these
women. Their ~gorgeousness threw INTO
the shade all the rest Of the toilets, and
their determined efforts to identity through
their glasses the men in the boxes had
the effect OF keeping most OF them out OK
sight.
until the opera ended. Their visit had
one result. At a meeting of the stock
holders held a little while later 1t was de-
cided that no more parterre boxes could
be sold for single performances.
In this respect the Metropolitan is diff
ferent from any other opera house in the
world. In Paris, Berlin and Vienna boxes
are leased for certain nights Of the week.
At other times they may be bought by
anybody who has the price. In this way
| the opera boxes lose the prestige OF being
reserved for the use OF those persons who
own the theatre At the Metropolitan
only the grand tier boxes are sold to the
public.
Thus does the older opera house continue
to satisfy society's demands for opera
Just as Covent Garden Is enough Tor a
, much larger number In London. There
is no anology between the formation OF
! the Metropolitan and the Manhattan. The
richer members of society who are not
stockholders at the opera house are satis-
fed with the privilege Of renting boxes
in the paIterre even II there are none TO
be sold. They would rather hire. more
over, a box at the Metropolitan, which
has received the sanction Of society, than
own one in a theatre they had built for
their own use.
Mr.. Hammerstein built his theatre for
other purposes than opera He really
designed 1t for a hippodrome.' He did
not think it necessary TO be in a hurry, and
the two younger founder of our Hippo
drome intervened. There Ii, a the new
! impresario understood, a great demand
/ Just now In New York for opera. He knew
Of thes vast subscription list at the house
conducted by Mr.. Conried and OF the many
persons unable to get satisfactory seats
there. Then he had his W predisposition
to music and his old desire to be an operatic
impresario.
All these circumstances combined to
persuade Mr.. Hammerstein that opera
was the best immediate use Of his theatre.
That opera is more or less an institution OF
growth did not deter him; n his COM
pany is now gathered together in Europe
waiting to sail for this country. So his
plan to form an opera company in six months
is all but realized.
Whether the list Of boxholders when
IL is made public reveals the existence Of a
new society remains to be seen. II prob
ably will not, as no such society with the
need for its W opera house exists here
at present.
IF the public supports my opera scheme
Mr.. Hanhnerstein said the other day, 4
shall be very glad. shall be satisfied with
small personal profit 80 long as the enter
prise takes firm root. II It doesn't suc-
coed l have my theatre, which will be per-
feet for certain kinds OF plays. 1t will
be in the new centre Of the uptown dis
trict, near the Pennsylvania Railroad. and
as a real estate investment IL bound to
turn out all right. l hav only to get the
best company possible and give the public
my best efforts, l will be able to say more
about my future plans next SPRING
nAnAnr DONE