The Washington herald., 1909-06-20
LOST THEIR VOICES
MANY SINGERS. INCLUDING JENNY LIND FOUND THEM
AGAIN BUT NOT ALL WERE so FORTUNATE

made mistake. The superintendent an
swered that she could not 90 into Garcia's
class. and. unless her present teacher
would kindly take her back as his pupil.
she could not return TO the academy.
She promptly replied that she would not
reJoin the class. and certainly would not
return at ALL The rest of the story may
be cited in her own words:
"On leaving the academy went TO Gar
cia'S house and explained 70 him how my
voice had been changed. He made me
sing few bars. and then told me must
rest entirely for some considerable time.
not singing at al. and not talking TOO
much, so as TO give the throat which
was out Of order, complete rest. After
six months Of quiet ! went again TO him.
when he tried my voice and said I could
now begin TO practice. I therefore com
menced lessons at once. and soon found il
improving, thanks to the careful way in
which he made me practice. bringing the
voice back to its proper register. and Civ
Ing me contralto songs after many les
sons"
4 DisObedient Pupil.
One day there came to Garcia a girl
who had strained her voice by singing
higher than her natural voice He told
her not TO sing anything in q high regis
ter. Once only she disobeyed. and the
next time she called on him and had
spoken a few words she was surprised 10
see his face flush with anger. He re-.
preached her with having sung soprano.
Surprised, she asked him how he knew,
and he answered: Il heard you speak,
that IS quite enough" He told her that
in ten years not a note would be left OF
her brilliant voice As she promised not
20 dis0bey his Instructions again, he
agreed 10 take her back, on condition that
she would study a whole pear without
interruption before appearing IN public
After few months she left London 10
spend the winter on the Continent. She
hoped he would take her back on her re-
turn, but he sternly refused. telling her
that no never went back on his word, and
adding: You Will probably get engage
ments. but do not base your future on
singing"
Time proved that he was right" says
Mr. Mackinlay. After a few years she
began to lose her notes rapidly. and
soon her voice was completely gone"
A Niece of Richard wagner.
Among the many pupils OF Garcia whose
names are now recorded in musical his
tories and dictionaries is Johanna Wag-
ner, the neice Of the great composer. He
engaged her at the Dresden Royal Opera
(of which he was then CONDUCTOR. when
she was only seventeen years old. and II
was she who created the role OF Eliza
beth in ''Tannhauser'' in IS45. Shortly
afterward she was sent 20 Paris. az the
expense Of the Royal Opera. TO continue
her studies with Manual Garcia and his
sister, Viardot. In 1853 she married q law
yer named Jachmann. and two years
later She lost the voice that had made her
famous. This induced her TO start on a
career as an actress. She got an engage
ment In Berlin. and for ten years she was
one OF the most admired tragediennes. on
the stage. In 1872 she retired from the
stage, but her singing voice had come
back sufficiently 10 enable her to accept
Wagners invitation 10 sing at his model
performance Of the Ninth Symphony that
year. and 10 take the part. in 1876, Of the
first Morn in the Nibelung Festival at
Bayreuth.
Charlotte Cushman Is now remembered
chiefly as an actress. but she began her
career as a singer. As a girl she had a
voice OF unusual compass and richness.
with full contralto register. Friends Of
her father, one Of them John Mackey, in
whose piano factory Jonas Chickerfng
was then foreman, provided her with
good musical instruction. and she subse-
quently appeared in concerts. as well as IN
operas. She went with an opera company
10 New Orleans, and there her voice.
strained by the soprano parts assigned
70 her, suddenly failed. A theatrical man
ager in that city thereupon advised her to
become an actress. and in 1895 she made
a successful debut as Lady Macbeth.
Genevieve Ward is another famous ira
gedienne who began her career as an
opera singer. her stage name being Cine
vra Guerrabella. She made her first an
pearance IN opera in Milan in 1856. and
subsequently in Paris. London. and Amer
lean cities. Having injured her voice bv
overstrain, she taught singing in New
York for some years and then prepared
herself for the career Of an actress. max
ing her debut as Lady Macbeth. In this
country she is best known by her i'm
personation Of Stephanie, in "Foreet-AIe-
Not"
MeIba's Mistake.
Nine. Sembrich attributes the preserva-
tion Of her vocal powers during a career
Of nearly three decades TO the fact that
she always knew what roles and songs
were suited TO her voice. and avoided the
others. Nine. Melba did not always do
this. and for her mistake on one occasion
she suffered serious. but luckily not per-
manent, injury 10 her voice.
1t was at the time when the De Reszkes
were here and Wagner was all the rage.