The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-01-20

gin at once; she had a repertoire that
included many sacred selections. had once
sung The Holy City" at a vaudeville trial
| matinee, and could sins "Good-by' in
manner that would certainly win praise
from even Tosti Her tale was Iunc. uated
by Mr.. Forbes Now, L" on numerous
occasions, but the stage-struck girl would
have none of the ordinary dismissals.
Then Il was after she had spoken for over
ten minutes, concluding with II simply
must get a position with your company,
and want you to get 1t for me, that Mr..
Forbes had his inning. He turned loose
his dulcet- toned voice and proceeded TO
show the maiden how utterly miserable
she would be were she to give up her
happy home psrlor, with its upright in
strument and red piano lamp by its side,
and the pile of sacred solos. for the
glamor and artificial existence of the foot
lights. This was Mr.. Forb, s. argument:
IF you are possessed of the idea that
life in an opera company is all one mad,
merry roundelay of lyric leisure and OF
gayety, talk for five minutes with the
first GREATNESS prima donna who Is re-
leased from rehearsal. You will expert
ence an utter change of heart, and the
perspective through which you gaze upon
the song birds who carol blithely in the
Grau and Savage aviary will be quite
altered.
public calls the young women who sing
and those who dance behind the footlights
of the opera The public is a poet, and
subject TO giddy flights of fancy. The
hardest worked beasts of burden in the
world are the stevedore elephants OF India
and the truck horse of Washington. The
birds and butterflies of the Metropolitan
English Grand Opera Company come next.
And the birds who sing have possibly
shade the hardest work than the butter-
flies who dance.
.a'i'he real hard work which a girl must
do who hopes to win worthy place on
the operate stage is the long, dreary, I'M
inspired task OF training her vocal or
gans into a flexible responsiveness. You
may be born with a heavenly voice. but
unless you are willing to give hours of
daily practice to acquiring correct meth
4, cd of using that gift, you can never hope
to become an artist.
you must make up your mind to aban-
don the gayetieS Of girlhood and to prac-
tice deep breathing and right voice plac-
ing, while other girls are playing golf or
chattering over o'clock tea. You must
eschew late hours, and avoid as pesti-
lence even innocent amusements that
would distract your mind from an IN
deviating pursuit Of vocal perfection
Standing for hours at work over singing
exercises will make you awkward and OF
ungraceful carriage. To mend these faults
you must practice dancing and the exer-
cises of Delsarte Then you must also
study acting, for the stage business OF
Lohengrin,' Faust Romeo and Juliet,
and Carmen is quite as important as the
lyric performance.
You are a lucky girl indeed, IL you
find time to eat and sleep in the twenty
four hours of each busy day. 1t takes the
hardest kind OF hard work to prepare your
self for work IL opera, and when it comes
to the time when singer has only four or
six hours of rehearsal and practice you
feel that the lyric stage is really one OF
tho restful professions Perhaps the birds
and butterflies earn more money than the
w-browed sons of Italy who break
stones and dig trenches in Washington
streets, but the unprecedented observer
must own that they work harder for it,
Well" ventured the surprised appli
cant how much would l get at first if l
really did get a position with your"
Perhaps SUPPOSEDLY SIG, If your voice
is as good as you say It is
Don't Grace Golden AMI Zelie de LUIS
san get more than that" asked the choir
singer
Yes. they do; but they're prima
donnas, you must remembe.. They get
sleepers-lower berths. alwsys-and
maids and cabs to and from the hotels,
and numerous other little favors from the
management
And do you mean to say l couldn't get
more than sixteen dollars a week."
That's all, I'm afraid"
Huh, can make more than that in the
Pension Office, let alone my choir"
Then she swept out of the office and Mr..
Forbes assured the Times man, who had
been an interested and amused listener to
TIE interview, that the incident was in no
4
will continue to discuss the paucity of
real native talent.
Jerome Sykes, and Foxy CUTLER" are
headed toward Washington and are due
TO appear here in few weeks
Since the initial presentation of the
Smith and DeKoven opera. CUTLER
has received the approval of Metropolitan
audiences, and the larger cities OF the
country are now having an opportunity TO
learn what entertaining fellow this
sleuth is. Mr.. Dekoven has added a
couple of new numbers since the earlier
visit Of the opera to Washington; other
wise the forthcoming production will be
the same that local recreation hunters
appreciated SO much several months ago.
Manager Daniel Frohman, who recently
asserted he could not secure a good play
by native author and was thus compelled
to resort to the output of foreign dramat-
lists. has made proposition to the Dra
matists' Club to accept and produce any
play of American origin which has been
passed upon by committee of the clubs
members and give it the benefit of as care
full presentation as he usually does the
pieces that are ON view at Days, in New
York
Mr.. Frohman protests that he has no
hostility toward the native dramatist, but
does assert with much vehemence that
he is unable to get n subtle piece
from an American writer. BY suit
able" Mr.. Frohman takes refuge behind
a friendly word, for a play that would be
acceptable to the average American au
dience might not find favor with a Daily
assemblage, which usually requires some
thing Englishy and distinctly smart and
this is Just what most of the home writers
for the stage appear unable to turn out.
Mr.. Frohman is perfectly honest in his
position, no doubt, yet 1t does seem
strange at this distance why he was I'M
able to see the many excellent points of
Clyde Fitch's THE Climbers" which has
just been given by Amelia Bingham at
the Bijou Theatre with quite remarkable
success, and which was hrst offered to
Mr.. Frohman, who, in common with a
number of other discerning managers, re
turned the play to the playwright with
their thanks. THE Climbers" promises
and duplicate the business of Henrietta
CHEESEMAN'S Mistress Nell
The United States Marine Band will
make a FIVE weeks tour Of the principal
cities OF the country, commencing March
IS. The trip will take Mr.. Santelmann's
men as far west as Denver. The present
.,l-E. oh