Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1891-06-10
MISS EAMEs.
LONDON, May, 1891.

America has sent us many hne vocal.
lists in recent years. Her latest rep
resentative Is Miss Emma Eames, who
within the bare fortnight that the Lon
don musical world has known her, has
won the suffrsges of that critical pub
lie, and has taken rank as a prima dom
ma of great promise, as well as of great
performance. Technically Miss Eames
is not native OF the States Her
friend, the Chinese Ambassador in
Paris, who has a keen appreciation of
her singing, likes indeed to call her
"his compatriot," for she was born at
Shanghai, and spent the first five years
Of her life in the land where the melo-
dy of the tom-tom provides all that
that placid people require of musical
delight. Boston, however, has the
strongest claim to be accounted her
home; for, out of the slender total OF
her years, the handsomer proportion
has been given to America.
Miss Eanes comes of highly music
al stock, although no member of her
family before herself has joined the
professional ranks. Mrs Eames is q
highly accomplished musician, and was
her daughters earliest teacher. She
did not for a long time forsee or desire
that her daughter should go upon the
operate stage; but when it became
manifest that her musical destiny would
summon her thither, she did not-hap-
PLY for the puhhc-endeavor to re-
strain the development of Miss Eames'
great gifts. At Boston, Miss Eames
was heard for short time at some of
the principal churches and at concerts;
but the day came presently when one
of the principal teachers under whom
she had been studying said to her, 81
can teach you no more now, and no
one IN America can teach you what you
still want to learn. For that you must
go to Europe" So to Europe-or,
more narrowly indicated, ParIs-Miss
Eames and her mother came some five
years ago. Then followed spell of
very hard work under the direction of
Nine Marchesi. Afterwards, when
the foundation was laid for future
operate success, Miss Eames went to
some of the principal composers to
learn at first hand how they intended
that their creations should be interpret
ed. Gounod was especially kind to
her, and gave her many helpful sugges-
tions for her rendering of Marguerite,
and Juliette. She speaks in enthusias-
tic terms of the master, and amongst
her most cherished possessions are por-
traits of the great man, inscribed with
charming expressions of interest in his
pupil
Miss Eames agrees with other artists
in declaring that the Partisan public is
the most difficult to please of any in
matters musical. "You must be per-
feet in everything" she says, "perfect
in enunciation, in tone, in gesture, In
everything, and then you must act with
a certain amount Of spirit, but if the
measure is overpassed, they are dis
pleased. If the Parisians observe too
much elan in your performance, they
say that your style is ItalIan-and that
is fatalp' On this subject Miss lanes
endorses the opinion of Dumas fLs, who
says that the French are not a musical
nation like the Germans and the Itsl-
ians, but that they "know more about
music" than any nation. Miss Eames
has now at all events the satisfaction of
knowing that, having won her laurels
in Paris, the tribute of other capitals
will follow as a matter of course.
One minor drawback to her French
training, however, was revealed to her
when she was called upon, after only
one rehearsal, to sing the part OF Elsa
In "Lohengrin" last Saturday. She
had positively not so much as seen the
opera performed for five years; Wag-
ner's music being of course under a
political taboo" IN Paris. Consequent
ly she was obliged to trust to the in
spiratIon of the moment for her drama
tic reading of the part. But if viewed
as n piece of acting, we Londoners
could have wished for a shade more |
of that elan to which our Gallic neigh |
bors object, her gestures, if few, were |
extremely appropriate, and her poses
notably at the end of the second act |
where, before entering the church as a |
bride, she turns upon her enemy one !
glance of pure scOrn-were full of dra- |
matte beauty. With regard to her vo- |
cal endowment, it is needless to add |
au thing to the words of our musical |
critic. 1t is one of those few voices |
that are full of personal character, and |
the most striking quality about it is its |
of timbre. 1t goes without !
saying that all that study and careful |
could do to add to its fiexibility !
and to perfect it as an instrument, |
have been done with the utmost sue
cess.
During the present week Miss Eames |
has been singing three times at Covept |
on Monday in Faust" on
Wednesday in "Romeo ct Juliette,"
and on Friday IN 'Iohengrin, but
this rate OF performance must be looked
upon as an exception, for Mrs. Eames
is a careful guardian of her daughters
voice, and holds that an opera twice a
week is quite a sufficiently exacting
strain upon her physical strength, as
indeed most mothers would agree.
Miss Eames by no means ignores the
spectacular side of the opera. Since
her debut last week, she has permitted
the ladies amongst her audiences
possibly the gentlemen besides to en-
Joy the sight of some unusually splen-
did dresses. Miss Eames brings all
her costumes from Paris, and is very
particular that they should be suitable
10 the circumstances of the part. To
lake a small instance, in "Lohengrin"
It has been customary for Elsa to make
her first appearance in a low-necked
bodice and with bare arms. Miss
tames very properly considered that a
Princess who had come before the
King OF Germany to meet the over
NhelmlnB accusation OF having muir
Tered her brother, would be in no mood
% assume such festive raiment. Miss
Eames accordingly covers her head
and person in such soft white yelling |
Trap, cries as are suited to her Inundated
condition. Matters of this kind are
small, but inasmuch as they
nave a bearing upon the total impress
non, true artist such as Miss Eames
will never overlook them.
In private Miss Eames enjoys a celeb
ity for the conversational gifts which
he shares with some of her fellow
and, from her long resi-
Ience IN Paris, she talks equally we'll
n French and in English. She takes
! lively interest in the literary, drama
ic, and artistic questions of the day,
Ind as whatever she has to say about
hem is fresh and individual, her Lon
Ion pied-a te5-Te (Which those who