Show COST OF A MODERN PLAT spent in tha of ui operas ata 0 alie expense of mounting atio modern or opera is increasing as the taste of the 1 nylic becomes cuore refined and exacting it is a little wore than ten 3 ears nays the new york aur bince athla tendency becaro manifest and now managers vie with cacti other in the magnificence and richness of costuming in the cheaper theartres theatres the atres the anie course of notion prevails and the advertising boards display alio cost of plays in a fitly cent theatre but in figures that need curtailing of one or nore ciphers and division liy gean in the old days the man that built a theatre built a block of that was only replaced about once a year because it was act daliy worn out there was in every theatre a fancy chamber and a plain cli amber a modern street aind an ancient street a dark wood and a cut a parlor and a palace a landscape a garden and a house liy the latter is meant a single piece of scenery that might be beet up anywhere cut to a point to represent the gable of a bouse and painted with a door and window this did auty on a great variety of occasions and with these pieces of scenery were played tragedy comedy burlesque pan tomine and farces the old enter usually open with a farce played always in the fancy chaine er and followed by a drama of six degrees of crime or dick turpin aud tom king in sis acts of four scenes each in which the action shifted amm boston to brussels and by some mysterious manipulation the scenery waa transported so easily that whether it was the queen s apartment at windsor or a bedroom in a bowery hotel the same fancy chamber was always on band and in order it was the duty of the stage manager to go about with a whitewash brush and repair with a touch of color here and there the worn and tided scenes while the property man counted it among his duties to paint in deigns for the occasion on the houses of the street scene used in the play the shifting of this cumbrous scenery necessitated long and tiresome intervals inter vales of action to relieve the tedium bf which the comedian was sent before the drop curtain to entertain the audience audi euce kiib bis gags which were accounted the ruail feature of the perform ance and that manager was con the most successful who could obtain the best and kupst gorgeous comedian with he introduction of llie modern society play to stage litera lure came the primary to ward realism which now characterizes the getting of every play and mr duly is said to have been the first apostle of the new reform hannings hangings Hang ings of rich stuff took the place of painted irritations and with the demands of u and exacting public the realistic effects grow diioro and more superb and expensive with he arrival of mr trying and hid elaborately mounted pla came a freesh impetus in the new departure and the establishing ot the custom f accompanying stars not only with their own company but also with all the scenery and baago appointments and every supernumerary euper stage carpenter property mau and calcium light manager mr dalya satin chamber was once the wonder of the me tro polia and is still remembered by those who saw it as the moat gorgeous piece of stage work ever ap rane cd but ita gloriea are ed with the scenes from any burlesque opera and tho pink ballroom in erminie far eclipses it in splendor with the rea lilic scenic efforts came the necessity of elegant and correct until now the set ting of the modern society play in bolves a cost of or and requires the serviced of an architect and and the roost fashionable and high priced tailors and mantua makers in the costuming at an additional expense of 2000 or the three scenes in the wife were arranged at a cost of because they were constructed on architectural principles and were not the work of a scene painter the furnishing of a modern parlor roust bot only be correct and elegant in every detail but all the hannings hangings hang ings carpets and furniture must be new in design and costly in material for it is to be keenly inspected by people who have elegant homes of their own so a standard such is de sig an artist mr W H daly being the designer at the lyceum theatre the artist makes a model of llie scene arranges its of color all of which is photographed and sent to sonie large furnisher to bo carried out in rich the dresses worn by the ladies harmonize with the eclie ine of color and ore so beautiful entirely new in style and faultless in fit that letters aro frequently received at the theartres theatres the atres from wealthy society women asking for ado address af the dressmaker who fashioned certain gowns in paris abo fashions radiate from the stage and in new york actresses are fast taking the lead in ultrafashionable ultra fashionable as it is a part of their profession to become adepts ill the art of good di essing one peculiar feature of tl e new play at the lyceum which mrs burnett is now writing is that the pelayia as yet unfinished aid ai d bs not been named the stage felting has been modeled of card b ard in colors and sent to the that she may make the pay for the scene aa she la adapt ire it to the members of the company and the ladica are already iu poise aaion of the culora to be worn in their over the construe lon of which they are puzzling bleir pretty beada and making lie a burden to their modister modi air drobman saya tho better a play is mounted the longer it run and it is in the long runs that the great of mounting ia canceled sometimes a however elaborately put on fails lo 10 make ft lift anil the preparation is n dead lots likens popular f ty ie in bonnets the of a ii ail hinr hem the caking lights their colored medium costing in theartres theatres the atres anil aud in operas being still more generously at the lyceum the electric lights aro supplied by their own dynamo which i an erratic if inanimate servant which in a fit of sulks caused every liblit in the theatre to bo suddenly quenched one evening and the baat part of lavender to be played in darkness another nrique con eide ration is alio llio artistic artia tic arrange anent of I 1 ho music to heighten certain in melodrama and play upon the audience and last though not least of fill there id the authors royalty which must be added to the expense of productions and amounts to large sums mr palmer has put on very many playa notably a series of french and flame but perhaps it is reserved to clr abbey to bear off tho highest honors in the introduction of mag effects in theatrical representations mr abbey brought air irving and his entire company and with him he alao brought every bil of scenery used in tho london lyceum theatre in his plays ant with it the carpenters to set it the property men aud every thirty thousand dollars was spent in the production of cleopatra of which one half was expended in the scenery which was painted in new york and waa in process of construction from october ast 1st until the play was brought out mra potters costumes were designed by mr E bell and elaborated by worth at a cost of fifty years ago one tenth of thia money would have more than paid the expense of the production A linteri Win teri tale was quite as expensive a play as the were furnished by alina raade in london and imported together with every supernumerary and ballet girl this was done mr abbey bays simply to civo a smooth and perfect first night performance for mance ot A winferd Wint erd tale and the result was that new york era saw as beautiful and finished a performance ai could have been given in he lyceum theatre in london where the play had run for weeks mr abbeys italian opera season at the first opening of the metropolitan opera house cost him and the new play which tennyson hai written for mia anderson called the cup will be produced at an enormous expense the scenery in nadav cost between and and the carpenters worked from thanksgiving until christmas in carrying out the artists designs the costumes cost more than in chii revival and wilt be replaced in fifty nights because the changes in tho piece are destructive in their effects they are all designed by mr harry holt of the metropolitan opera house and executed under the direction of badamo and her force who are constantly employed in the theatre miss bussells Eus sells costumes amounted to about 1200 of which one dresa cost the costumes are all furnished bj the manage even to the stockings and slipper worn the latter being anade to order from the exact measure nent of every dainty foot that trips out on the boards and while only soft rich na n a aerials are used in the dresses they cannot be utilized in more than one play fur the operas run so long that people become familiar with each costume and if the attempt is made to me them io another production some sharp eyed woman in the house ia sure to epy it out another that is not considered outside the profession is the full company of understudies that are kept constantly at half pay to supply any budden emergency they come to the theatre every night and report fur duty and walk the streets at heir leisure the rest of the time and there are always an ambitious ambit ioui set of girls who have frequented understudy rehearsal consequently thero are in all three nadjy companies all the time there apfl five biage lands in the flies four mora on a side down stairs property men to look after the swords and helmets and all movable stage furniture except the scenery two gas men aud men to attend the calcium lights taking all expenses into consideration including the royalty on the play which in this opera amounts to a week it costs to ra ue the curtain on nadjy every night the scenery for cost and the costumes alere were sixty in the choins fourteen principal and twenty extras twelve calcium were used which coat about a the pink ballroom acene which was called JJ oyta fantasy cost iad costumes were all anajo from imported colored prints in the most delicate and rich materials 1 8 was another expensive opera the laca chamber alone costing and thero ft ere seventy people on the blage at buco the fur the Yoc maii of the guard cost and tho wardrobe when alie opera companies are sent out on the road all the alcea are taken together with the men who understand putting them in place duly the bare wall of the theatre arc rented and local managers make n concession in consideration of elaborate mounting and appointments at the metropolitan opera house an additional and important item of expense not to theatrical performance a ia occasion ed by the required ia scenic effect fur these appliances there is no prec eilent and carpentere prices to coi respond with alic rather than actual cost of their construction each car on which the rh ne daughters dispart thema elyes costs and abre anre three car aed ibe in siegfried wag con at an expense of WO and it coats to get the monster out of his covo at a production of the fatra and requires alio services of ire meu the queen of sheba 13 alie most gorgeous and expensive spectacular effect given at alio llio opera aliouse and was mounted at an expense of there were persons employed in the pageant and the cost of the opera for a single night in dependant of the employs iati persona outside the regular german opera company which comprises persons at salaries ranging from 50 cents to a night the expense of an opera like fried 19 in the scenic fleet rather in the costuming while in the queen of Sheba laffi cain ho costuming and extras niale the heavy cost the expense of lighting the opera house varies from ss to according to length of the performance and the electric and calcium lights are employed the expense of a single opera ia difficult to compute because abo leading artists are hired by the season and paid for the nights they do not sing aa well as for those on which they aro employed and a percentage taga of their salary must be added to the total of a performance which reaches fabulous amounts f holyroyd holyrood Holy rood london post some who lately went through the queen of scots apartments at palace were shown by the guide who seemed to have spoken a little beyond hie commission a certain passage and a large jutting atone like a edep and the following curious statement was then let fall A abort time ago when some repairs were being luale in he queen of scots room a stonemason aruck the jutting out stone above mentioned which rang hollow lie had the curiosity to turn it up and discovered the remains of a baby wrapped in cloth of gold and marked J now it is well known that mary stuart gave hirte to james I 1 of england and VI of scotland in the adjoining room and that immediately after the birth the child was ie moved and brought up the queen showing small in her now supposing the real child the real james is the infant wrapped in the cloth of gold lying under that stone who was the other child who afterward after wad reigned as james I 1 of england and VI of st did this question ever occur to the authorities this will best be answered by asking how they said to have treated the discovery they telegraphed at once to the high personage in london w hose it id to control rood palace what did he ite sent back word to make no fuss about but to replace the baby in the cloth of gold marked J under the etoni and presumably there he still he hut the questions remain to be answered if flint ii man stuarts baby and the right ful heir who 13 that other baby and why when the supposed nal turned up in cloth of gold was there no buss to be made |