Omaha daily bee., 1908-09-27

Minis 30 that they could see the opera.
They were distributed at the Conscrratoire.
an establishment founded by Charpentier
out OF the fortune he made IN Louise
There the Minis can go after the days
work and get free instruction In singing,
acting and fencing. Unfortunately the Con-
s~ervstoire has not been the great success
that was predicted for II. / do not know
why, unless II IL that the girls are 30 tired
when their days work Is over that they
have no heart OF ambition to study. Yet
they are most appreciative Of Charpentier's
generosity.
Not n Tender Coin Type.
Doesn't II seem to you" asks Miss
Garden. las ~ the interest displayed in
the Characterization Of these roles Is proof
Of the fact that the old-time methods are
taking their proper place in the mosaic Of
grand opera and are no longer the entire
substance? I do not mean to say by that
that the old operas have lost their prestige,
but j do mean to say that a new note has
been sounded and so there can be no going
back.
Operas like That's Louise 'Pelleas' ct
Mslisande' and even 'Gwendolin,' which II
q revival Of Chabrier's that 1 am prepar-
ing for my coming Paris season, show that
for a singer TO make a success in grand
opera II is not necessary that she should
have a few tremendously high notes or a
phenomenal voice OF wonderful range. She
must have a we'll placed voice, she must
have great intelligence and great person.
atty. To come forward to the footlights
and amaze with vocal pyrotechnics is no
longer enough to make a rep6tation in
Europe; but II she has an lmpassive tenn
permanent and a profound belief In the
efficacy Of colorature she will always have
the Joy OF coming back here. even though
Europe sees her depart without regret. For
there Is no doubt-judging from what grand
opera is at present in this country-there
will for a long time be q class of adherents
to the belief that tone should outrank mere
Interpretation"
Miss Garden disclaims any personal
meaning In her comparison Of methods. Il
have been accused Of jealousy OF Nine.
Tet-tra- oh, l never can think OF her name.
Oh, yes-Mme. Tettrazzini. On the contrary,
l was one of the first to suggest to Mr..
Hammerstein that he secure her services,
for I thought It would be a very good thing
for the Manhattan. There is room for US
all. an audience for us all. But one must
have ones belief. ones standards, and must
fight for what one believes. else what IL
the good of having worked and moulded
oneself7
American Art and Critics,
Nor did / mean anything carping and
critical In the article l wrote for Every
body's Magazine. II was not an attack
on Americas lack of art in the sense in
which it has been quoted by some of the
daily papers. / meant this: That while
there is great appreciation of art in Amer
lea and a great longing for the best that
can be obtained the masses Of the people,
who are in every other country the ar
biters in matters of this kind, show no
evidences of the struggle, the fight, the
ups and downs that precede the establish
ment of a standard which, once obtained
and recognized, they will have at all
hazards of critics, impresarios and box
holders.
They sit quietly while the play or opera
Is in progress. Then they go home and
read the papers the next morning to see
what they shall think about it. They are
too inclined to follow the dictation OF this
reading. In Europe the critics exist. They
will always exist, for they represent an
established institution, but they do not
count as they do here. The final verdict
Is given by the people over there, people
who sit in the gallery, people who pay a
few confines or a Franc for "a seat but
who have standards and will abide by those
standards whatever happens.
when the people here have this free
dom of thought and this training, when
they have unshackled themselves from the
habit of accepting the opinions Of profess
sional critics, then you will have the great
est art in the world.
IF your country had commenced by de-
voting itself entirely to the development
and maintenance of such standards, why.
where would you be? Nowhere at all.
II you even attempted at the present time
to place too strong a force in that direc-
ton you would go mad. You have had to
grip hold of big vital financial and political
problems. You are still gripping them and
you have had to sacrifice your development
In some direction. So art has suffered, but
when some of these questions are answered
there will no longer be a chance for crit
icism; there will no longer be a weak place
in your armor to attack on This point.
Galleries for the Poor.
Think what II will mean when the time
comes that the common people can 20 TO
the gallery for 10 cents as they do in
Paris, for even q cents, and hear the great
est operas in the world, produced under
the most able management and presenting
the greatest singers. When, instead of
having two opera houses here In New York.
you have four or five and an opera season
that does not close after two or three
months.
d I think It necessary that a woman
should have had many emotional ex-
periences before she can make others feel,
either with her voice or her acting? I GER
tainly do. l would say to any woman who
was going to sing, don't shut yourself away
from emotions. but use them for your de-
~velopment. You must thrill yourself be-
fore you will get that responsive thrill
that comes back to you over the foot
lights and makes all the preliminary strug-
giles seem worth while. One does not have
to go through the same experiences as
those depicted by the heroine Of drama or
opera, but one must be sympathetic, and
1t is only through suffering that the quail
lily OF sympathy Is obtained"
Her own Early Life.
Speaking of her own early struggles, Miss
Garden says:
Il went 10 Paris at the instiEation of
some people who were willing to bear the
expense OF my training for the sake Of the
future which l had been fortunate enough
to convince them awaited me. Progress