ry popular at the opera two or three
seasons ago, walking to and fro with the tears running down his cheeks
for a long time before his entrance, and one of our greatest coloratura
prima donnas has come to me before the opera, sung a quavering note in a
voice full of emotion and said, with touching accents: "See, that is the
best I can do. How can I go on so?"

I myself have been affected often by such fright, though not always in
the extreme degree above described. This nervousness, however,
frequently shows itself in one's performance in the guise of indifferent
acting, singing off the key, etc. Artists are generally blamed for such
shortcomings, apparent in the early part of the production, when, as a
matter of fact, they themselves are hardly conscious of them and
overcome them in the course of the evening. Yet the public, even
critics, usually forget this fact and condemn an entire performance for
faults which are due at the beginning to sheer nervousness.

The oft-uttered complaint that operatic singers are the most difficult
to get on with of any folk, while justified, perhaps, can certainly be
explained by the foregoing observations.

We of the opera are often inclined to be superstitious in a way that
might annul matter of fact Americans. One woman, a distinguished and
most intelligent artist, crosses herself repeatedly before taking her
"cue," and a prima donna who is a favorite on two continents and who is
always escorted to the theatre by her mother, invariably goes through
the very solemn ceremony of kissing her mother good-by and receiving her
blessing before going on to sing. The young woman feels that she could
not possibly sing a note if the mother's eye were not on her every
moment from the wings.

Another famous singer wears a small bracelet that was given to her when
an infant by Gounod. She has grown somewhat stout of late years, and the
hoop of gold has been reenforced so often that there is hardly any of
the great composer's original gift left. Still, she feels that it is a
charm which has made her success, and whether she sings the part of a
lowly peasant or of a princess the bracelet is always visible.

And these little customs are not confined to the woman singers either,
for the men are equally fond of observing some little tradition to cheer
them in their performance. These little traits, trivial perhaps in
themselves, are of vital importance in that they create a sense of
security in the