r than opposition. The early opposition from my family made me
more and more determined to prove to them that I would be successful. If
I heard some singer who sang successfully the roles I essayed, then I
would immediately make up my mind to excel that singer. This is a human
trait I know; but I always profited by it. Never be afraid of
competition or opposition. The more you overcome, the greater will be
your ultimate triumph.

MME. BERNICE DE PASQUALI

BIOGRAPHICAL

Mme. Bernice de Pasquali, who succeeded Marcella Sembrich as coloratura
soprano at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, is not an
Italian, as her name suggests, but an American. She was born in Boston
and is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Practically
all of her musical training was received in New York City where she
became a pupil of Oscar Saenger. Her successes, however, are not limited
to America as she has appeared in Mexico, Cuba, South Africa and Europe,
in many places receiving great ovations. Her voice is a clear, high,
flexible soprano, equally fine for concert or opera. Her husband, Signor
Pasquali, made a lifetime study of the principles of the "Bel Canto"
school of singing, and the following conference is the result of long
experiment and study in the esthetic, philosophical and physiological
factors in the most significant of the so-called methods of voice
training.

[Illustration: MME. BERNICE DE PASQUALI.]

SECRETS OF BEL CANTO

MME. BERNICE DE PASQUALI

CENTURIES OF EXPERIMENTAL EXPERIENCE

In no land is song so much a part of the daily life of the individual as
in Italy. The Italian peasant literally wakes up singing and goes to bed
singing. Naturally a kind of respect, honor and even reverence attaches
to the art of beautiful voice production in the land of Scarlatti,
Palestrina and Verdi, that one does not find in other countries. When
the Italian singing teachers looked for a word to describe their vocal
methods they very naturally selected the most appropriate, "Bel Canto,"
which means nothing more or less than "Beautiful Singing."

Probably no words have been more abused in music teaching than "bel
canto," and probably no words have a more direct meaning or a wider
significance. What then is "good singing" as the Italians understand it?
Principally the production of a perfectly controlled and exquisitely
beautiful tone. Simple as this may seem and simple as it really is, the