s at its greatest. This must be
anticipated.

Take such a case as the following passage from the famous aria from
Saint-Saens' _Samson et Delila_, "_Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix_." The
climax is obviously on the words "Ah!--verse moi." The climax is the
note marked by a star (_f_ on the top line).

[Illustration: musical notation:

Reponds a ma ten-dres-se, Re-ponds a ma ten-dress-s!

Ah!--ver-se-moi--ver-se-moi.. l-i-vres-se!]

When I am singing the last notes of the previous phrase to the word
"tendresse," anyone who has observed me closely will notice that I
instinctively let my shoulders drop,--that the facial muscles become
relaxed as when one is about to smile or about to yawn. I am then
relaxing to meet the great melodic climax and meet it in such a manner
that I will have abundant reserve force after it has been sung. When one
has to sing before an audience of five or six thousand people such a
climax is immensely important and it requires great balance to meet it
and triumph in it.

ANTONIO SCOTTI

BIOGRAPHICAL

Antonio Scotti was born at Naples, Jan. 25, 1866, and did much of his
vocal study there with Mme. Trifari Paganini. His debut was made at the
Teatro Reale, in the Island of Malta, in 1889. The opera was _Martha_.
After touring the Italian opera houses he spent seven seasons in South
America at a time when the interest in grand opera on that continent was
developing tremendously. He then toured Spain and Russia with great
success and made his debut at Covent Garden, London, in 1899. His
success was so great that he was immediately engaged for the
Metropolitan in New York, where he has sung every season since that
time. His most successful roles have been in _La Tosca_, _La Boheme_, _I
Pagliacci_, _Carmen_, _Falstaff_, _L'Oracolo_ and _Otello_. His voice is
a rich and powerful baritone. He is considered one of the finest actors
among the grand opera singers. During recent years he has toured with an
opera company of his own, making many successful appearances in some of
the smaller as well as the larger American cities.

[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF ANTONIO SCOTTI IN THE COSTUME OF HIS MOST
FAMOUS ROLE, SCARPIA, IN "LA TOSCA," BY PUCCINI.]

ITALIAN OPERA IN AMERICA

ANTONIO SCOTTI

So closely identified is Italy with all that pertains to opera, that the
question of the future of Italian opera in America is one that interests
me immensely. It has been my privilege to devote a n