García went to Mexico in 1826, but his daughter remained in New York and sang in English opera at the recently erected New York Theatre. She also sang in the choir of Grace Church--a strikingly unusual proceeding for an artist who had already won international renown. For over five years there was no more Italian opera in New York, nor was there, indeed, a regular operatic season of any kind. English ballad opera, however, again came into favor for a time and there were also performances in English of such works as Auber's _Masaniello_, Boieldieu's _La dame blanche_, and Mozart's _Il flauto magico_--all wretched adaptations of the originals. Seemingly the operatic managers of that time had all the peculiar vices of the musical comedy producer of to-day. The scores of Mozart, Auber, Rossini and other masters were subjected to incredible mutilations, and inapt interpolations of every kind were used to catch the popular taste. If the following picture of musical life in New York is not overdrawn it certainly paints an extraordinary state of affairs. It is taken from a letter written by a visiting German musician to the _Cæcilia_, a musical journal of Mayence.[40] 'Here the musical situation is the following: New York has four theatres--Park Theatre, Bowery Theatre, Lafayette Theatre, and Chatham Theatre. Dramas, comedies, and spectacle pieces, also the Wolf's Glen scene from _Der Freyschütz_, but without singing, as melodrama, and small operettas are given. The performance of a whole opera is not to be thought of. However, they have no sufficient orchestra to do it. The orchestras are very bad indeed, as bad as it is possible to imagine, and incomplete. Sometimes they have two clarinets, which is a great deal; sometimes there is only one first instrument. Of bassoons, oboes, trumpets, and kettle drums, one never sees a sight. However, once in a while a first bassoon is employed. Oboes are totally unknown in this country. Only one oboist exists in North America and he is said to live in Baltimore. 'In spite of this incompleteness they play symphonies, and grand overtures, and if a gap occurs they think this is only of passing importance, provided it rattles away again afterward.... 'Performances take place six times a week in these theatres. Sunday is a day of rest. The performances commence at half past seven, and last until twelve, sometimes till one. Rope-dancers, or one who is a good clown--even if he be able to execute only tolerably well a few jumps that resemble a dance, and can make many grotesque grimaces,--or one who plays (all by himself) on the barrel-organ, cymbals, big drum, Turkish pavilion,--these are the men that help the manager to fill the treasury, and these people earn enormous sums.' At this ebb-tide of music in New York there stood out in bold relief the venerable figure of Lorenzo da Ponte, the old idealist, the type of the world's dreamers, whose achievements are rarely recorded.