CHAPTER I
DON’T WAIT TO BE “FOUND”
Every day of my life I receive letters from men and women, mostly women, whom I do not know personally, asking me to advise them how best to use their vocal talents. Some of my correspondents also request me to give them an audition so that they can demonstrate their claim to be embryonic stars.
It is manifestly impossible for me to spend all my time listening to persons unknown to me, in the hope of finding new Carusos, new Pattis and, shall I say it?--new Tetrazzinis. If I were to do so I should have little time for my own practice. Nevertheless, whenever I am able, I do give an audition to a young aspirant to musical fame, as I consider it my duty to help, to the best of my ability, those who are to come after me.
To those correspondents whom I have been unable to see personally let me say that star singers are not necessarily discovered by stars. It is quite true that from time to time it has been my fortunate experience to discover a tenor or a baritone or a soprano. But they had already been more or less discovered before I found them.
True at Covent Garden I found John McCormack singing a very minor rôle and was instrumental in having him elevated to the position of principal tenor. And other _prime donne_ have acted similarly.
Nevertheless these artists would doubtless have come to the front in their own time without being “discovered” by a _prima donna_. Most big artists of to-day were not found by any one: they found themselves. I, for instance, was nobody’s find. When the _prima donna_ failed to appear at the opening night of an opera in my native Florence I volunteered to take the part, and in so doing discovered myself.
My readers will therefore understand that to be discovered by a great singer is not essential to becoming a great artist, and that because I am unable to give auditions to all who ask me I am not hindering them from becoming successful.
But for the benefit of those numerous correspondents who have expressed to me a desire that I should help all interested in training their voices, especially in their attempts to climb the difficult ladder of successful singing in public, I have consented to publish the following hints, and I hope sincerely they will be useful to all who read them.
I do not claim that I have given an exhaustive treatise--no one ever has done so--on the art of singing, but I am sure that any one possessing a voice who cares to put into practice the suggestions I am now making, will be benefited thereby.
From this handbook I have purposely excluded the story of my professional life. That is already published under the title of “My Life of Song” (Cassell and Co., London; Dorrance, Philadelphia, U. S. A.).
It will be observed that I use the word “he” all the way through when meaning “he or she.” This is merely because I understand there is no English word which expresses the both. It would have been more modern to have used “she” in every case, but perhaps less modest. My lady readers will, however, understand that I am writing at least as much, if not more, for their benefit than for our lords and masters.