l be, such a vacancy, and is not worth the paper it is written on.
American girls, who do not understand this, will tell you that they have
"been offered Berlin, or Vienna, or Munich," when they have merely
received one of these _Agenten-Vertraege_. A contract is worth nothing as
such, until it is countersigned by the director of the opera house, and
yourself as singer. Even then, it is not valid until you have sung as
many "trial performances" at the opera house as the contract calls for,
and for which you may have to wait six months.

I told Herr Harder what I wanted--a chance to do big roles somewhere,
salary no particular object, as I should look upon the experience as the
completion of my training. I sang for him, left with him my repertoire
and photographs, and he promised to let me know of the first opportunity
that presented itself. In a short time, he sent for me to come and see
the Director of the Theater des Westens, a Berlin theatre which at that
time was the home of a sort of popular opera. I sang for the manager,
and he was very complimentary. He offered to engage me at once, but he
added, curiously enough, that I was too good for him! They gave only the
older operas like "Trovatore," on which the copyright had expired, and
of these only the ones which the Hofoper did not give, so that I should
have no chance to sing my big parts. At the same time, he said he would
very much like to have me. The offer did not suit my plans, and I
decided to refuse it. I went on with my work until just before
Christmas, when Herr Harder made me a second proposal. This was the
position of first contralto in the garrison town of Metz in
Alsace-Lorraine. The opera was a municipal one, that is it was
subsidized by the town, they played a season of seven months, and gave a
large repertoire including some of the Ring dramas. I was to go down
there, sing for the management, and if they liked me, begin my
engagement the following September, giving me time to make additions to
my German repertoire. As I was a beginner of course I could not give the
usual guest performances.

_Vorsingen_ is a trying ordeal. The great theatres have regular days for
hearing aspirants, but this was a small theatre. The appointment is
usually made on the stage, sometimes during, sometimes just after a
rehearsal. Groups of the singers regularly engaged in the opera house
stand in the wings, and you feel a nameless hostility emanating from all
of them, es