The Washington herald., 1921-09-04

tract, however, there was no time
left for either parley or conjecture;
the days meant ceaseless work and
ceaseless concentration. My two
roles had to be memorized. their
stage action studied and endless re-
hearsals attended.
By good fortune, when at the end
Of three weeks the Creatore tour
was finished, the tour with the
Scotti company tsarted: on 1t 1 sang
Suzuki in Madame Butterfly" and
Lola in "Cavalleria Rusticana." Be
tween those tours my husband re-
turned from sea service to New
York briefly and was surprised to
find me with a three years contract
for the Metropolitan Opera House.
spired my eager efforts, for the pay
Of lieutenant would not make both
ends meet.
Busy days ensued. Rehearsals
and the study OF new parts made a
breathless prologue to my debut
Among roles given me to learn were
the exacting ones Of Brangaene In
Wagner's Tristan and Isolde"
Eboli in the special revival Of
Verdi Don Carlos" and parts in
"Oberon." Boris and other operas.
Before the season ended the num-
ber of them reached. as ] have
stated, sixteen in all.
On my debut day at the Metro.
politan last November I had, as
usual, to rehearse from 10 o'clock
in the morning until late afternoon.
Tired out. reached home to snatch
/ little rest before the curtain rose
on I'll Trovatore." I returned early
to the opera house. When I was
dressed for the first act Mr.. Agnini,
the stage director. who had served
in the same capacity with the Scottl
company. and who trained me In the
role both on tour and at the Metro
politan. came hurrying to me. Try.
try tonight with all your might.
he urged. IF you never do well
again. do well now. Do well for my
sake" His tragic plea set me to
thinking.
Gave Rest at Debut.
Perhaps mingling with friendly
interest was a touch of professional
pride at stake as my trainer. inc
genuine kindliness of it all aroused
me. Up to that moment having
been so very busy, the debut had
seemed only part OF my general
routine rather than the crucial mo-
ment as ne keenly realized. 1t
kindied new left that brought me
out of nv haze Of tiredness. Going
out I sang. as 1 always must when
the music OF the ORCHESTRA sets me
af1ame.
Outside my part in the opera. all
7 recall of what followed the first
act was, going out with the rest TO
bow, oh, I don't know how many
times, and then being pushed out
alone many times more. I knew
that they liked me. Going straight
to my dressing room I took on my
beads. took off my wig and started
to change my costume for street
clothes. Suddenly my colleagues,
led by Mr.. Angini, burst in and be-
gan to tell me that l. had made a
great success. Stopping short,
they cried as II with one voice:
What are you undressing for?'
ITO go home" answered.
GO home!" they shouted. why,
you've only sung the first act,
you've got two more to do"
Then I came back to reality, put
my beads and wig where they be-
longed and finished out the opera
Last winter I had the whooping-
cough: 1 caught it from my little
daughter Jane, who is named after
her American grandmother, while
1 am the namesake of my French
grandmother. Jeanne. And that
whooping cough gave me evil mo-
ments on the stage, moments filled
with fear that I might give way to
1t in public.
One night in a performance of
"Oberon," lifted to my face the
bouquet that carried. Then
started in to sing. But no voice
came. One page, two pages of
music sped by in the orchestra, still
could not make a sound.
thought I had swallowed a flower
but I kept my nerve. Presently my