MADAME TETRAZZINI.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 106, 28 January 1908, Page 3

MADAME TETRAZZINI.

Madamo Totrazzini, .the new primi'.'li;r,na wh'o : ;has been the sensation of the operatic world contributes tho following story -'6f -iier youth to "iM.A.P.": — ; V'^ ■■■ I/was born' in, Florence! where' my'father' was a well-known merchant, arid I " vas the youngest of four children,. not ; of's'evfti, as-to my-surprise, I havo seen it stated- in soniq of the • London papers. Our family consisted of. three girls' and . a boy.:. J he last 'was tho eldest, and though he has a Mod and sings well, ho never became a lyric aritist,. but. has devoted himself to stage managqinoht, and ,is the stago director at Barra. Tho eldest of fny sisters is Madamo Eva Tetrazzini, now Madame Oampananim,' who was at one time a grfcat dramatic soprano;'and,it,'has been always .a very great regret .to-liioi ,that I novel- sang ■with her before, slio gave Up the 'practice .'of her art in which she triumphed so . splendidly. My second sister is a teacher in Milan, arid .wo are; happily; still all alive, though our father and mother are both . dead. ■ My father died long before I. began to sing or even dreamed of becoming an operatic artist, but m .Y mother died' only five years ago, and she heard, mo sing several times in Florence, in Rome; and . elsewhere. From, the time I was quite a tiny child I loved singing. That,'however, is not wonderful, for in'ltaly. everybody sings. It does not matter whether ho has a voice or not, an Italian must sing. If ; h<> can't, ,he becomes a critic. I began" to sirig, then, almost as soon as I began tb talk, Naturally, 1 was indited to sing'by the fact that my sister Eva used'to study at home, and I used to hear her practise. With the child's natural gift, for imitating and for learning unconsciously from tho tilings it hears, I soon began singing tho operas she was practising; and 1 know both tho words and tho music of a comparatively' largo repertoiro bbforo I was oven aware of the fact. I couldn't have been eight years of age when, L remember, my sister was. studying Giaconda.x In tho course of tho opera she used a dagger to stab herself. I had seen her rehearso this, and I naturally-wanted to do it myself. ' Unhappily-for me, as . it seemed then, the dagger had been carefully put away. Still,,Lhad to stab myself witli something and nothing else.-being.available L got hold of a candle out of a candlestick. I sang tho suite, and at the propor .'moment 1 thrust tho candlo against my. breast,* and Fell to tho'ground,, to tho great delight' of my father, who roared with' laughter, ..'and' applauded mo vociferously. Long before that, however, I had been to tho theatre. I do not know how young 1 was ■ when Vmy father took mo to. my first opera. • You'see, in Italy, peoplo take their children with.th'omtrom a very early' age. It is no uncommon thing.to seo'a father or mother with.a haby less than a year old in their arm?/in!'the gallery. .There is no law,in Italy against children being taken to, tho theatre)';, aii'd so fchoy-go. Very often when an artist sings a pathetic song you can hear:- the littlo children whining in tho gallery. , , It was no doubt hearing my sister sing.in public which -first incited me "to do likewise. It was she, too, who gavo mo my, firstivlesson in music,, for she taught mo to play tho piano. It was not- only, tho Giaconda I learned from her, for I, picked . up many other roles, and thanks to a retentive memory I soon got to-know a great 'deal ,abbu't several operas, Faust and Lo -Bal Masque 1 actually knew straight through, not' morelv tho soprano parts, but all the parts with all the music, which I picked up in this ' way. Later on, 1 added all tho words and music of several operas to this repertoire, "and I have found my knowledge stand 1 me, in, good stead. Tho constant. practico has resulted in my being able to undertako a rolo in eight days, and 1 havo studied-a new part-in, six hours, working only two,hours, a day. I do not mean that I ever undertook to .sine a part at that notice, but after that study 1 was ablo to go word aud music perfect to rehearsal. . That, however, is perhaps anticipating matters. As a child,, too,' I used to whistle a great deal. Ono day 1 remember my sister told me I was not to sing. .1 wanted to. very much. Still I could not disobey her, so I began to whistle. I whistled the whole day long, and my mothor declared I' was liko a littlo cobbler, for in Italy tho cobblers invariably whistle as they work. As a child, tod, I learned to imitate many birds and certain musical. instruments, and tho only reason why 1 do-not do so still is hecausb tho cxorciso is bad for my voice. Between tho agos of 10 and 12 my voico was contralto. I 1 or a child it was very full and deep, and when I was 12 ii well-known composer actually wroto a song for mo which wont, down to G. Everybody thought my voico would , get lower, and Madamo Biaiicolini, one of tho greatest contraltos in Italy, used to declare that I was going to bo her successor. Soon after I was 12, however, my voice' began to change, and it gradually got higher and higher, until now 1 sing F in Alt., the noto which is demanded of the soprano in "I'uritani" and "Tho Magic Flute." Coming under tho influence of my sister, I naturally wanted to go on tho lyric stage. To this, howover, my mother was bitterly opposed, for she said that .one singer in the family was quite enou/fh, She did not ob-,

jeet, however;: to niy -going to the Conservatoire, the LiceoMusicalo, in Florence. When I presented • myself before tlio, direc- •,'-' or . ' had naturally; to' sing' in order to' see If my. voice .was good , enough -to allow me to; bo admitted. l-'sa'iig one "songi when bignor: .Cecherini, , who ;hnd v also taught ■ niy. Vster ®va,. turneel :;to'.tho -examiners, anil ?-r"! ■. •""J' this- is' an artist: : sho. is .not' a l.ittlo, girl at all." When- I heard .that I l ' need not • say 1" was' overjoyed, v'forl- know, it meant I should; be ' admitted. For -tliroo months I went.to the Liceb. '.'At-the■ end. of my lesson qno day Signer Cecherini turned to mo and said:.''My .child,, you:don't need any more lessons. You know everything I can teach you, and you siiig like an angel." As.'.l was not to go to tho Liceo any more, however, I determined to work at home,' and bignor Cecherini used to come and let mo study operas with him. : In threo months I knew Cnspino et la Coniaro" (which used at- ono timo to bo sung so much by Madamo latti), "La Fille du Regiment," and 'oemnamide," tho last of which however, I have never sung in public. When my sister Eva had sung at the Theatro Nicoiini in Florence, I had ofteii been with her to take her flowers, so that I know tho manager, who also know tho members of my family. Ono day Meyerbeer's "L'Africane'! was going to bo'produced. Tho manager had three artists on his books,' but for some reason lie was not' satisfied with tliem ill the small part of "Inez." It is a very difficult rolo, for "Inez" has to take part in a septette, sung without the orchestra, and she has to strike the keynote for the others, as she begins it. Tho manager was telling us' one evening about' the failuro of the threo ladies, and, turning to me, said: "Would you sing tho part?" "Yes," I cried delightedly; "but you will have to give mo a good dress for it, and you will have to pay me." He smiled, , and asked what ,1 wanted. \ I sJlook m,T head and said: "I don't know. You see, I've never sung in public before, and I don t know what I m worth." Ho smiled again, and offered me £20 a month for lour months. I jumped at it, and I sang the rirst two: months in Florence, and the succeeding tv'2 months in Rome, ~ My salary, however, did not-go very. fnr,' for I found much of it ivas taken up by "gratifications" to peoplo who were connected with tho theatre, , After my four months were up I was engaged by another manager at £40 a month. Stili, my voico was not yet - definitely formed, though o very ono was kind enough to say ; I had-tile temperament of a singer. Now ar/ti again, too, Lsang in concert. On one occasion Queen Marglierita was present. On :ho platform I 'have_sung operatic music which 1 ha,vo.no intention of singing on tho- stage, and T.havo even sung some-of.lsoldo's music. Iho part is, however, too dramatic to suit my voice, though some day I hope to sing Elsa m-' Lohfengrin." '• After my ,scason in Romo I wont to South America,: where I remained: for ;our years. In Buenos-Ayres I sang ; Lucia iio fewer thtrr 04 times. Tho fiftieth : performance was made tho.occasion.of a great fete, and the Presidont'.was present. Tho theatro 1 was: decoiated. I hat ])orhaps was. toi .-bo . expect<|d. 'tYhat I certainly-could not have'expccted was that wie ;^hole 'route along which-I had to go from .hoter to the "theatro would be deooracod too.; - .1 ijom ' Buenos .Ayres- I : went' to Ei'ij and other towns, and then to Russia, San Francisco and Cuba. , Then. went, io ' Jlexicg, where, tho : people are devoted lorerx of music, and' thcy mado my, lifo 'very pleasa/i;.foi: me. ' : ;