The New York Herald

The Grand Opera Season—The Rival Troupes.—To-night Max Maretzek opens the Astor Place Opera House with his rival troupe, presenting "La Favorita," with the splendid Steffanone, as the first step of the season. The other Opera troupe, which began last Monday at Niblo's, makes its second commencement, as it may be called, to-night, in the great contest of the fashionable season, with Mad. De Vries as Lucrezia Borgia."

Thus the Opera season really and truly now opens with two vigorous companies, determined "to do or die" in the great contest of art, before the fashionable people of this city.

This will be a remarkable Opera season. It is now about twenty-five years since the Italian Opera commenced its career in New York, under the magnificent auspices of the elder Garcia and the divine Malibran. In that period of time, Italian Opera has met with many vicissitudes, frequent ups and downs, numerous rivalries and a few coups d'etat. Much money has been paid, by our fashionable classes and others in New York, to establish Italian Opera, but hitherto with somewhat doubtful success. The most successful manager has undoubtedly been Maretzek; but yet he too has had his vicissitudes, and complaints have been made of the excessively high salaries demanded by artists, which could not be warranted by the small theatres, even when filled to repletion, at the prices which can only be taken in this city. We have now two companies—rivals to each other—both combining great talent, though different in kind. The rivalry of these troupes may tend to create a considerable sensation in the public mind, not only of the few who have hitherto called themselves "fashionable," and frequented the Opera, but of the vast body beyond their circle, of pinched-up respectability—the wealthy people of this city—who can afford to go to the Opera as well as the Astor Place Opera House subscribers, though they make not great pretensions to fashion and fooleries.

This Opera season, commencing with to-night, will therefore be a very marked one in the operatic annals of New York. But it will be a great struggle between the two companies, in more ways than one. Already, we understand, law suits have been instituted respectively against each other, for breach of contracts, or for money due. It is an assured fact, that during the last year, notwithstanding the good houses, the high salaries were, in the aggregate, so far beyond the receipts of the management, that a considerable amount still remains due—probably several thousand dollars. One party commences a suit to recover the past dues, and the other party commences a suit for damages for breach of contract; so that while we will have the two companies—one singing in Niblo's, and the other vocalizing in the Astor Place House—we may see them both also in the courts of justice, rivalling each other in disclosing the secret history, and the amusing contretemps of the green-room, in the shape of evidence. Two opera troupes and two vigorous law suits commence in the same week; so that we shall have business for the fashionable people—business for the lawyers—and business for the courts; particularly as the Forrest case is now coming to a termination, and Judge Oakley and the lawyers would have nothing to do thereafter, unless these generous vocalists actually did commence suits, to furnish some variety for the amusement of the town.