The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1907-06-08

own mind do not rely on some ono
else to supply you with thoughts. In
quire into what you are doing' no"
the why and wherefore. That IN IT,
self does not Imply that you are 70
question the correctness OF views au-
yanced by those of experience, but tnat
YOU should find out how they reach
such conclusions and their reasons lof
doing 50. To think for ourselves IN
every direction and in every detaii Oh
our daily lives helps naturally. anu
as we'll in the advancement q our
art-for after all our art is the fesult |
of everything that we have learheu'
.sGenius is willing to lay the founda-
ton of her structure unobserved.
The being in a foreign country,
such as Italy, so picturesque ana iuii
of color, awakens the imaglha''on
strongly. Music is there an old sweet
story learned unconsciously through
hundreds of years, until it Is IN
stinct,ve rather than acquired. HOW
quickly the audiences in those ilt'ie
opera houses will tell you whether you
have ANYTHING in you or not! Ihey
are not infallible, put If they 90 not
receive a young singer with some ue-
gree of recognition it is time FOR that
singer to undergo a rigorous self-ques-
tioning as to what the matter was
and then set about rectifying II 10 Tie
best of her ability.
In early life, when we would nave
every season June, the months that
come before the wished-for time seem
long ones. but without their passage
June would never be.
Every young prlma donna longs
some day to sing Brunnhilde, but De-
fore she can do that she must nave
, Sung her Violetta, her Leonore and the
lighter of the old Italian roles WneI
: that is done the Aida, the Elsa ano
i the rest come in their order Gradu'
alIy with the growth of strength
physique, routine and experience sn'
reaches a height where Brunnhilde ant
Isolde stand among the immortais
4 Here again it is the same maxim
q make haste slowly"-to do each tnlni
!, that we undertake so well that II De
II comes a part of us before We go on q
the next.
81 Nowadays, when an opera singer ]
!" called upon to sing in three or fou
languages, the study OF those Ian
il euages becomes of great importanc
and cannot be begun too early.
proyes a source of surprise TO tnos
Id whose opinion is asked by young sins
~ ers, that so many Of them, even In tn
4. delivery Of familiar, time-worn arr
" do not know what 1t is about. WITT
ont a full knowledge of the meanin
~ of each word and. of the situation
n. which an aria is placed the sing'
I'll destroys it's prime element. Ii
e. impossible to make others feel tn
r. which YOU do not feel yourself Ho
II can we feel that which is sealed to
to in meaning? 1t is out OF the que
90 ton.
" This leads again to an importa
ny matter and a critical one-excess
In, feeling. The moment that one los
II command OF ones self, in that m
ny ment is lost also the command OF on
hal audience. Between genuine feeii
err and the loss of self-control there
ost as distinct difference as between sc
ode timent and sentimentality. pain'
lisa in depicting a scene on canvas mi
ng- work with enthusiasm, imaginatit
ne. fervor and ample technique. The n
est ment, however, that he loses the gu
The ity of seIf-command, he loses as
of the control of his subject and b
we'd and tumble is the result. With
ere singer conditions are identical.
,m- By a paradox, which is as well
'ers unalterable law, the singer must be
ain culiariy responsive on the emotio
but side. which means highly develop
iel- nervous organization, and yet
its must have her nerves under absol
control.
| to II Is scarcely necessary to REP
rom here anything so well recognized
shts the fact that singer must lead
,uld most abstemious of lives, enjoy
test pleasures always in moderation,
hen never in excess. Another truism,
,een vet one that is not always recogni
hide by the layman. is the fact that
a of singer can safely give way to a
title play of temper, for nothing Is
INJURIOUS to the voice. Much
mark been said and written Of the gi'
can way by singers to fits Of Ill tenn
with A long series of nagging worries
I'M nervous strain to which the SINCE
mes so frequently suffered may result
the an occasional outburst, but the sill
who gives way to such outbreaks
itually is not likely to sing
onna long.
, be- In the DAYS wneu uAe $50
aters ian operas made up the complete