The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-10-17
BEHIND THE CURTAIN.
Continued from Pace 8.


piano in the Brussels conservatoire.
My voice was neglected. Nobody
thought 1 had one. However. after l
had finished at the cOnserYatoire I took
a little fling at voice culture with a
! singing teacher. l really studied hard,
and went so far as TO learn certain
parts, among others Carmen
I'm 1896, when l was Is years old,
went to London with my sister. One
day she was playing for w. S. Gilbert
and L was playing her accomplishments.
Don't you do anything?" he asked
me.
Il told him 1 could sing a little, and
he asked me to sing something for him.
1 chose the 'Habanera' from Carmen.
When 1 had finished he made me an Of
fer TO appear in The Grand Duke,
which was almost ready for produc-
ton. ! simply smiled and told him
that 1 was going TO try grand opera
first. Did you ever hear anything like
it? I can't imagine myself doing it
now, However, 1 had a chance to sing
before Sir Augustus Harris, who was
at that time director Of the Drury Lane
opera. When 1 sang for him he liked
my voice and engaged me for five years.
1t was arranged that I should make
my debut in Carmen
Mind you, at that time 1 spoke only
French, not a word of English, and l
| had twenty days only in which to learn
the part in that language. 1 managed
to do it after a fashion, but my English
must have been very funny. It was
arranged that 1 should make my first
appearance in the Crystal palace. If 1
made a success I was to go to Drury
Lane. I sang on a Thursday at the
Z oil Co NV
day I went TO Drury Lane and sang
| Carmen there all that season.
Then Sir Augustus died, so my opera
aspirations seemed TO be finished. But
at that time BeerbOhm Tree, who was
planning an American tour, happened
to meet me, and he thought he might
make an actress of me.
He didn't realize how little English
1 spoke. I played Nine. de Pompadour
in The Seats of the Mighty and some
other small parts, but he soon saw that
| couldn't play longer parts until l
knew English better. When I did the
| Player Queen in Hamlet I never was
able TO get through my scene. Hamlet
and all the court were in gales of
laughter. Mr.. Tree said that it was
one of the funniest things he had ever
seen on any stage.
Then came an offer for me to play
the leading part in The French Maid
at the Herald Square theatre. and Mr..
Tree very kindly let me go. After that
it was simple. l went from one must
cal comedy to another. I played in
The Strollers, in Miss Bob White,
and with Alice Nelson in The For
tune Teller 1 even sang in the music
halls.
1t was at that time that 1 met Mr..
] q 7
sang in his Olympia theater. remem-
Der that among other things I sang
the Jewel song from Faust Then /
starred in The Princess Chic and other
| operettas, and my final American ap-
! pearance was made with Francis Will
| son in 'Erminie.'
Il went abroad with my husband in
/ 1904 We went to Nice and Monte
/ Carlo. We heard opera and other mu-
| sic. and l went mad over it all. ]
wanted to sing in opera myself. with
| the aid of friend of mine, a singer
/ l got a hearing before NJ. Capoul of
| the Paris opera, and he was good
| enough to recommend me to the Opera
| COmtque, where I was engaged. Then
! 1 studied for a whole year, and in
! Sept, 1906, I made my debut at the
COmique in Carmen which 1 sans
there for two years, together with
| 'Cavalleria Rusticana'
/ Last season sang in Marseilles, and
! there is scarcely an opera house in
France where I have not sung at one
| time or another. 1 have sung in
| 'Werther,' Faust 'Tosca,' 'Manon.
La BOheme' and 'Pagliacci,' and l ex-
pect to sing all these operas here ex-
cept 'Werther' and 'ManOn. Mr.. Ham
merstein has also asked me to sing
Venus in 'Tannhaeuser,' which I have
/ never sung before"