Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-09-12
CAVIuERI DANCED
IN STREETS OF ROME
At the Tender Age Of 3 Years,
She Was Ambitious to Be-
come a Great Singer.

When l was only just S years old.
writes Lima Cavalieri in the Strand
Magazine, my ambitions were divided
between two desires: to be a great sing
er n a great dancer. For a long time,
however, Mt solution of this "knOtty"
problem which SO worried my little
mind would present itself, and. deter
mined as | was to become famous in
either n direction or the other. n
confident as I felt Of ultimately sue
ceeding. l could never quite make up
my mind.
One day-a fiesta, l think it was-my
mother had taken me to see a comic
opera at the theater, and from the mo-
ment I left the building l made . firm
resolve to follow the hand which
seemed to be reckoning to me from be-
hind the row Of glittering footlights.
So forever afterwards l used to dream
about those scenes which seemed. so gay
and sparkling. and I was never happier
than when %picturing myself looking out
upon a sea of faces sitting silently
watching me and only waiting until 1
had finished my song to break out with
bursts Of ringing reclamation. And
under the clear Italian skies-I am a
native OF Rome-my ambitions grew
and ripened as my little circle OF friends
the other Roman children who wan
dered about with me in the doorways
OF h Piazza di Spagna-used to sym
pathize with me. for they were all we'll
aware of my ambitions; and In the eve
nings would often gather round and ask
me to sing or dance. So in the street.
before a little huddled group of poor
and. l fear. often ragged Roman chill
dren. I made my first appearance Il
public.
Several yea slipped by in this way
and my dancing kept improving a. the
days went on. Passersby often used to
stop and watch my dancing with inter-
est. and / felt very proud to think that
grown-up people deemed 1t worth their
while to stand and admire my childish
efforts.
But as yet l was a very very long
way from reaching the goal which APP
peared to me so bright and attractive.
My t for some time IA been in
failing health; my mother was power
less to give me any help, and my broth
ers and sisters were all too young to be
able to earn anything at all. So, for q
time, I was under a cloud which showed
no signs Of lifting.
However. q few months later I made
my appearance at a cafe chantant, and
earned sufficient money to keep my
home going" not in the lap of luxury,
to be sure, but at least we'll enough to
ward OF hunger I'M starvation; and I
was also more thai pleased to find that
my audiences were most enthusiastic
about my voice and my rendering of
OAAA A4SNAS OAI6
So, while working steadily in his
humble manner. I ave- up as much
money as possible every week-which,
In the circumstances, you can doubtless
quite understand was a very small
amount-and when I could afford it be-
gan to seriously take up the study of
music and singing during h day, per-
forming all the time in the cafe chantant
at night. The work was very hard. blu
after three years Of steady grinding I
was rewarded by being given the part
Of Mimi in La Boheme' at the San
Carlo theater in Naples-the cast of
which included. by the way, the cele-
brated Bonci. Since then l have sung
in opera in hal parts of the world.
But Paris was to see the turning
point in my career for which 1 had been
so earnestly longing. and for which I
had been striving SO hard. for in that
city. after once figuring in the program
at the Folies Bergere music hall. / was
engaged for three trial performances
as prima donna in Massanet's That's"
at the opera. Happily l scored a con-
siderable success. and was forthwith in
cluded in the cast.
Do l ever think with reluctance OF
those far-away days when / used to
sing and dance before an audience OF
roaming children in the streets adj
joining the Piazzi di Spagna? Most
certainly l do not; and why should l?
Surely 1t is better to earn ones humble
honors than to come into ones own
by mere accident Of birth or by inf1u-
nee which is denied to ones fellow
artistes.s