TWO WEEKS

Nearly everybody, who heard the San Carlo Company during their recent engagement here, is convinced that there is a public in Boston for opera. Night after night the house was crowded with enthusiasts eager to hear the great musical masterpieces. Not only that, but as the season progressed, the attendance, instead of decreasing, grew larger. The company was admittedly not of the first rank; yet because it did its work conscientiously and artistically, it won approval and support from all sides.

Years ago, Boston had an opera company of its own, that had a wide-spread reputation for meritorious work. However, through characteristic Boston indifference, this company was allowed to disintegrate and since then, local music lovers have been perforce contented with occasional barnstorming tours of the Chicago Association, or with the inferior performances of mediocre troupes, singing in English.

It would seem that the time was ripe or the organization of a new company in Boston. With a supporting public guaranteed, and with a vacant playhouse (for in these days the Opera House is little used), some management, the enterprising Shuberts for instance, should find it possible to undertake the venture. There are of course many serious obstacles, chiefly of a financial nature, but these might be solved by means of a subscription guarantee, or by some similar arrangement. The advantages to be gained, however, far outweigh the difficulties, and a serious consideration of such a proposition certainly will be worth while for some energetic promoter; for Boston surely deserves more than a meagre two weeks of opera each year.