Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-14

bourne in the hope of obtainin ga guarantee,
| the minimum of which is said to be e40, 600.
Fresh Observations From Milan.
! Through the courtesy of Mr.. w. F.
Burns, well-known in this city, The DIS
| PATCH has received a letter upon musical
study in Italy, from Mr. Frederick j.
! Stevenson, whose long residence there as
well as the high praise he is
stated to have won from Italian
critics, give his observations more than
usual value As will be seen from the fol-
lowing portions of the letter, which is too
long to be printed in full this morning, Mr.
Stevenson has something to say of Italian
teachers and managers from point OF view
not generally taken:
The majority of students who come to
Italy to study singing labor under the hal
lucination that it is a very easy matter to
become an opeTatic artist, and that 1t IS
simply a matter of a year or so under the
tutelage of any Italian maestro 1.-THE supposl,
tion being that they are all equally good and
teach one method) to enable them to appear
in grand opera and command enormous sal
aries. That, with very few exceptions, they
all return to their respective homes,
poorer in pocket, aud with their voices in
much worse condition than wnen they ar
rived here, it is perhaps needless to state.
l, who have been in Italy Tor over seven
years, and have passed through all the
varied phases of 4 students life am perhaps
in a better position than many others 10
judge.
school has completely disappeared, as the
Italians themselves acknowledge. One OF
the leading critics of the CorTieTe della Sierra
said in criticising the opening OF the theater
La Scala this season that we no longer nave
such artists as MaGbran or Pasta, ana that
the stamp was lost.
During my time 1 have noticed a very
marked decline, and the public will tolerate
TODAY leading
artists that few years since no impressniio
would venture to engage. This Is prln Il
pallv owing to the TACT that there are Now
no masters capable OF imparting instruc-
tions Ior the correct impoStation OF the
voice. Everyone here, however lncapaDle,
teaches smginE-directors of orchestras.
tory musicians of all kinds, and
especially bad and broken-down sing
ers, who might, at least, one would
think teach their pupils to avoid the errors
they themselves made In the olden days,
when good artists were as plentiful as bad
ones are to-day, they studied SIX, seven,
even eight years, whereas to-day they e6-
pect TO qualify themselves IN as many
months.
On the death Of Gayarrie the last disciple
of the old school passed away His was q
case which supports the above statement,
for after having tried the best of the masters
and making many failures he came to the
conclusion to study Dv himself and 1t was
at least six years before he attained that
state of perfection which gave MIN MS justly
earned reputation.
l cannot too strongly recommend all
would-be students thinking of going to Paris
or Milan to seriously consider two very I'M
portant points. First, that they have good
natural voice, and are competent to sing
operatic music, and secondly that they have
sufficient means to enable them to pursue
their studies at the very least 1or three
years. Everything in Italy is nearly as ex-
pensive as in America except, perhaps, les
sons, and most of those would be dear at any
price. \ student requires at least $50 per
month to live comfortably.
MANY good voices have been received here,
which. had they fallen into good hands,
might have made enviable regulations for
their owners. A master capable OF teaching
the true method must be singer. and in
possession of n perfectly placed voice. This
must be evident to all. How many are so
qualified? My own case will demonstrate
the most celebrated and best-known
maestri of Italy, and with all
as n basso cantante, but, after having sung
eight nights as basso in the opera "Jone di
Petrella" WAS compelled to cancel my en-
Cagement being worn out with fatigue. At
the present time l have studied the tenor
role of a number OF the best-known operas,
which sustain and sing with perfect ease,
and expect shortly to make my debut in the
same opera as tenor in which first ap-
peared as Dasso. NY present
teacher, Madame Babette Rosen, has
an exceptionally perfectly placed voice and
q wonderful facility for detecting, through
sympathy, all the fanlts which take place
IN the students throat while producing
Tone consequently she is enabled to inme-
diately and perfectly correct them. She is
the only teacher with whom l have studied
that has any tangible method. Everyone
says that the voice should be placed in the
head but can't explain how that very difficult
operation is to be done. She dwells eS-
pecially on the Importance of ease and
naturalness and perfect enunciation. How
disagreeable it is to hear a marked break in
he1 nd difference color quality
when the singer passes from the so-called
chest to middle and then to head register.
This is radically wrong, as TINS dlstnctloa
should not be made. Rather let the student
strive even when working alone to place all
of the voice, from the lowest notes to the
highest as much forward in the head and in
the lips as it is possible, and he will very
soon perceive the increased facility and re-
scnance which his voice will acquire.
A word with respect to the difficulty en-
countered here. With very few exceptions
all debutantes are obliged to pay for the
privilege of first making their appearance
before an Italian public. Even after having
paid they are very fortunate If they succeed
in singing, as in the majority of cases the
impressarfo, who generally depends on
what money he receives from the debu-
tantes to enable him to procure and pay for
the orchestral music, fails or runs off
before the opera is placed on the stage,
leaving the artists to SHIFT for themselves
as best they can. Strange as it may appear
to Americans, in this country there does not
aDneaI TO De any Te0TSSS. L hHO" Ol CdS0S
where the manager has engaged two or
three prme-donne, all paying, to sing the
same opera, and then cancel the engage
ments before the production of the opera
for inability or some such excuse, which is
readily formulated by the director of the
orchestra or committee of the theater, the
money OF course being retained. the singers
having been engaged solely on account of
the money they would pay. One American
girl paid $40 to sing at a theater in Florence
and upon telegraphing she found that the
man had never applied for the theater. She
never recovered a cent. A young and too
confi6iing tenor of my acquaintance paid
$40 and was engaged by an established
he found the theater closed. l. could men,
tion many more such cases.
think it is time that the true state OF
affairs here in Italy, as regard singing, were
known more generally in America, as it
may perhaps be the means of saving aspir-
ing students both time and money, and
what is even worse, the running of health
and voice. In number of cases these re-
suits have been the least harmful. In no
case should any young girl come abroad un-
protected, especially If it is with the inten-
ton of making her career in Italy.
-
Two Great Treats for Pittsbure.
Pittsburgers will be glad to learn that
two of the foremost musical artists of the
world will probably be heard here next
month.
Adeline Patti is the first in point of time
Gt were ungallans to say, also, of age, and
renutation IT is almost q certaintv that