It would be a great gratification for all who are interested in opera to
see more fine opera houses erected in America with more opportunities
for the people. The performances at the Metropolitan are exceedingly
fine, but only a comparatively few people can possibly hear them and
there is little opportunity for the performance of a wide variety of
operas. The opera singer naturally gets tired of singing a few roles
over and over again. The American people should develop a taste for more
and more different operas. There is such a wonderful field that it
should not be confined to the performance of a very few works that
happen to be in fashion. This is not at all the case in Europe--there
the repertoires are very much more extensive--more interesting for the
public and the artists alike.