Article on the rival opera troupes in the city

“In the race for public favor between Pike’s and the Academy the former has so far distanced its tortoise-like competitor that the contest may be fairly considered at an end. The result could not be otherwise; considering the weight of one hundred and ninety-nine and a half stockholders borne by the opera house on the east side, the avenging shades of hundreds of departed voices and managers, the cold, cheerless, forlorn appearance of both stage and auditorium, and the antipathy of the American public to anything in the shape of monopoly. The La Grange and Brignoli Opera Company entered the Catacombs in an evil hour; for both the artists in whose name the troupe has been organized, and even the trusty Orlandini, have been obliged to succumb to the deadly atmosphere that, like the malaria of the Pia de Tolemei, surrounds those fatal walls. If the history of both houses were dramatized the usual finale of ‘virtue triumphant over vice’ would be exemplified in the present state of affairs; for the willful murder of splendid voices may be reckoned among the capital offences. The perplexing question for the worth one hundred and ninety-nine and a half now is, what will they do with their mausoleum? Opera has failed in it and met with extraordinary success elsewhere; Januuschek, one of the first of tragediennes, was obliged to seek a more congenial element, and her pathway has since been one uninterrupted series of triumphs; and even the ‘Devil’s Auction,’ with its ballet troupe, ruined the managers to such an extent that their subsequent success in other houses can hardly make up their losses at the Academy. We suggested before the idea of turning the establishment into a circus; but then the horses and their riders might fall victims to the same complaints that have carried off so many prime donne and tenors. As a factory it would require too costly a steam apparatus to keep it warm, and the same reason unfits it for a menagerie.

On the other hand, Pike’s has commenced well and proved itself satisfactory during the two seasons of Italian Opera given there. The admirable acoustic qualities of the house, and its cheerful, brilliant appearance, have made opera enjoyable, and the artists have never been heard before to greater advantage. The élèves of Torriani and Errani and the other American artists who are now coming forward every day have distinguished themselves in this house. At the sdamre time the proprietor and manage should not lose sight of the object for which the house was built aand its reputation, by allowing every kind of entertainment, down to negro minstrelsy, like the present week’s programme, to be held there. The public will soon frown down such degradation of a magnificent opera house, and the sooner the management restores its legitimate entertainment the better.”