The sun., 1919-03-02


freed from it's trammels in more than
mere appearance. I wish to be
Lucia Donlzetti's Lucia and to do
and to sing what is in her soul, no
more, no less. l do not create Lucia
for Donizetti did that; what l seek
is to create myself, make myself over
like her.
And thus you know that I believe
il! schools of acting and that l coach
when l am studying role. I have
learned the traditions of my school,
but. have retained only those / feel
to be true. There are no pains too
great to be taken with any role
worthy to represent, and there are
teachers who know what must be
learned. learn from these teachers,
1 take advices.
"A voice from the past" they have
sometimes called me, land doubt that
the phrase was always used in compll-
mentary fashion. but, despite the alb
surdity. ] am obliged to find in the
| linking me to so many different voices
long since hushed that am redivivus
| Garcia, l am Grisi, l am Malibran,
each. If one may trust the memory
of the fathers and the grand sires, so
individual, SO different. Isn't it to
laugh? Sing as I may and do the
roles these great ones sang, I am not
| Grisi nor Garcia, am not Patti
The great singer, dainty as Patti
drew a signing breath. "Of all the
great ones" she said earnestly, "a
regret most deeply that I have never
heard Patti. I wish so strongly to
know her, perhaps when I sing in
London" and her voice, a pleasant
voice, but not especially singers
voice in speech. trailed Vf. And to
gentle urging to say when She ex-
pected to sing in London, she replied
only that she didn't know.
Continuing the subject, she added
brightly: But as have promised to
tell all the truth, have to add that
have never heard the contemporary
coloratura singers. nor Tetrazzini, moi
Sembrich, nor Barrientos. 1t has hap
pened that we were not singing in the
same city. or If we were l sang on the
same nights that they were singing
and thus I have lost what I might
have gained from them. Opportunities
will come again and I shall welcome
| them,
while there are voices like these
the bel canto cannot die, although II
| isn't perhaps in quite so robust a state
of health as might be desired by its
admirers. They're not so general, the
music drama has carried many OF them
off; and If you should ask me would
rssy,.-Ap1 I shall say it..sgyway, IL
people, the great public doesn't care
a boot for bel canto.
Music That Needs No Tag.
'"The public care not jot whether
the school of singing is italian OIL
| French or German or English, oil
whether a voice is trained to bel cantC
or hardened to the dramatic school
Why should it? The music that pleases
them, touches them, uplifts them, the
music that gives them back the feeling
of their relationship to the Divine, the
music that lifts them out of them
selves to the something higher all o.
us would like to be, that is what they
unconsciously crave, and it Requires
no tag.
"And in any OF these varieties o.
singing the words count very high
The people must know what We arr
saying and we must have the words
and the right words to sing II we arr
to move them. You tell me that in a
least half my arias there are no words
at all. Perhaps; but before / reach tn
trill and the other embroidery OF tn
theme l have, by the color ! sought t.
give the words preceding it, establishes
a state OF soul. oh, the words ar
absolutely necessary! With correc
u diction they blend with the music lik
the two wings of the bird. SHOULD
drop TO the earth like a shoxwinge'
bird IL the poets words WEI to b
! taken from me.
81 study the role first with the word
alone, seeking to feel what my poet ha
felt, and when think have realize
h his conception listen TO the music Z
know IL the composer has married nj
J, notes to the words. uniting them In a