Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-01-24

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Their Ambitions
ana Mode Of Life. ~
What Eventually Be-
comes Of Them.
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....:::::::. :.:::..: NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
49,. -. -. -.
dramatic sopranos, the real ear split
ting, soul piercing, knife edge kind. A
young woman's voice may be an ex-
quisite mezzo soprano - but, no. that
won't do. She wants to be a screech-
ing dramatic soprano. The teacher
gauges her vanity and her pocket and
feeds the one while she empties the
other. A woman who is world celeb
rity as an operate trainer has amassed
an immense fortune by running con-
traltO and meZZo soprano yoices-large-
ly, sad to say, American ones IN the
day of judgment perhaps these strain
ed voices will get even by rising up
and singing to her. An American girl
with voice need not journey to Paris
to ascertain its range and compass.
There are honest singing teachers at
home who will tell her exactly what
she can expect from her voice and
what she can do with it. Having as
certained this, if she can afford in
struction Italy is the native home of
cd of voice training. Besides. living is
cheaper than in Paris. Then let no
vaulting ambition tempt her to monkey
with the high screech unless she climbs
to it naturally. 1t will be her undoing
The rich, melodiouS meZZo soprano APP
pears to be the voice belonging most
naturally to American singers. Final
lxv Of %I,O
nodded and developed in Italy. Paris
is the spot of all the earth to acquire
what musicians call style and finish.
Dramatic expression is the natural
gift of the French nation. They will
impart it artiicially to the sons and
daughters of other races for sufficient
consideration.
Let us say out of the so girl stu
dents who have some talent prepare
themselves for at least an average
successful professional career. What
becomes of The rest? They fail Why?
| Simply because they have not the grit
and the industry 10 succeed. They
have no go in them; no more fire fash
ing earnestness than a turnip They
| go out in darkness.
| Thus In 100 aspirants are success
| full. Fifty have no talent; the rest are
lazy. But what becomes of them all?
The answer to this is the sad part of
the story. Many of them dawdle
| through two, three, half dozen years
in Paris and go home, dead failures
and knowing 1t. They have not even
learned the French language correctly.
What they do thereafter is not mat
ter of the slightest consequence to any
body outside their homes. II they
tread the ordinary rut Of marriage, re-
production and the dull, domestic
grind, or il they fade out in colorless
spinsterhood, it is all one. Let us bury
them and leave them.
Four hundred dollars is the least sum
on which a girl can live in Paris a
year and pay for tuition. clothes and
| all other expenses. To do that she will
| have to deny herself most of the things
/ which make life to girl worth living
| Hundreds cross to Paris with no more
1 than half that sum for annual ex
| penses. They beg, they borrow, they
! suffer. A number of wealthy Ameri
can ladies living In France have es-
tablished a charity fund to aid these
forlorn girl students, but 1t does not
half go round. The American Girls
club is cheap and excellent boarding
home In the Latin quarter. but 1t can
not accommodate more than third
of its applicants.
Another phase of Paris girl student
life. the darkest. Paris Is the most
beautiful city of the earth. For all ex-
cept young French girls it is also the
freest city SO far as individual action
is concerned. People live as they please
and go as they please, so long as they
do not come under the open condemna-
ton of the law. The population sleep
at home and live elsewhere, in the
streets, in the brilliant cafes, amid raw
ishing song, the wine drinking, the
dance and merry shows. More than half
the night they are out. There is gla-
mour over the life that takes away the
sober senses Of more experienced per-
sons than young girl left all to herself
in the gay capital. She is caught in the
swim Of this wild, free life; she goes
sometimes, God pity her-she goes to
the bad. The great Babylon swallows
her up. She is seen no more in the lit
tie home over the sea.
There is fallacy among students
that it is necessary to 'ssee life" in or
der to become complete artist. By
seeing life they invariably mean seeing
that which is yilest and malodorous. 1t
is not strange that girl students some
times share the notion, only the girl al
ways gets the worst of this sort of see
ing life. Perhaps one may walk through
mire upon a footplank without necessa-
rily slipping and being drowned in it.
Nevertheless, girls, if you are sure
you have artistic talent and would rath-
er live on bread and water and make
the most of it than to stay at home and
live comfortably and bury it; if you
are prepared to work and be disap-
pointed and be disappointed and work
again; If you can keep your head level
and be guided by the instincts Of true,
pure woman from start to finish, go to
Paris by all means and learn. Paris is
the most glorious art school in the
world. Beauty of form, of color, of
sound and of action lies all about and
above you. Here of all spots beneath
the sun you can get the tools, the
knowledge and the experience which
you will bring home for use in cultivat
ing the splendid young art of the fu-
ture in America. Keep to the training
your mother gave you, and you can live
happily and independently in Paris.
Go, and good luck attend you!
BEATRICE CHURCHILL.