us. Mr. Thomas is not a conservative,
and, thanks to this fact, we are often enabled to hear a new composition
even before it has been performed in all the German capitals.

Of the condition of our operatic affairs it is impossible to speak in
the same terms of self-congratulation as of our concerts, and will
remain impossible as long as our opera troupes differ in no essential
respects--except in being less sure of their parts--from travelling
bands of negro minstrels. An orchestra may with impunity travel from one
city to another: it always remains the same, and only needs a good hall
to appear to advantage. But an operatic performance is such a
complicated affair that excellence can only be attained after years of
constant practice under the same conditions and with the same materials,
and without constant changes in the chorus, orchestra and stage
surroundings. European experience seems to show that without government
assistance good dramatic and operatic performances are not possible. In
France and Germany, where such assistance is given, the theatres are
good: in England and America, where none is given, they are bad. Perhaps
in course of time our national or city governments will come to
recognize and support the theatre as an educational institution, or at
least as a good means of suppressing intemperance and other vices by
supplying a harmless mode of amusement. There is little prospect,
however, that this will happen soon. It is more likely that some of our
rich men will at last come to see the folly of founding so many new
colleges, and devote their money to other uses. Had Mr. Samuel Wood left
his money for the establishment of a permanent first-class opera instead
of a conservatory, he would have done a wiser thing. The importance of a
good opera-house as an institution for promoting musical culture is not
yet generally understood--naturally enough, considering the wretched
performances we have so far been obliged to endure. The opera has one
great advantage over concerts: it is more attractive to the uninitiated.
It appeals to the eye as well as the ear. The scenic splendors will
attract many unmusical and semi-musical people who shun the purely
intellectual atmosphere of a classical concert as a great bore; and
while they gaze at the wonders of the scenery they unconsciously drink
in the music, so that in course of time they learn to appreciate that
for its own sake. When _Lohengrin_ was first performed in