e to be in my prime at that time, as my
voice seems to grow better each year. Battistini, who was born in 1857,
is an exception. His voice, I am told, is remarkably preserved.

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS A SERIOUS HANDICAP

Climatic conditions in many parts of America prove a serious handicap to
the singer. At the same time, according to the law of the survival of
the fittest, American singers must take care of themselves much better
than the Italians, for instance. The salubrious, balmy climate of most
of Italy is ideal for the throat. On our Eastern seaboard I find that
fifty per cent. of my audiences in winter seem to have colds and
bronchitis. The singer who is obliged to tour must, of course, take
every possible precaution against catching cold; and that means becoming
infected from exposure to colds when the system is run down. I attempt
to avoid colds by securing plenty of outdoor exercise. I always walk to
my hotel and to the station when I have time; and I walk as much as I
can during the day. When I am not singing I immediately start to
play--to fish, swim or hunt in the woods if I can make an opportunity.

OPERATIC STUDY

In one respect Europe is unquestionably superior to America for the
vocal student. The student who wants to sing in opera will find in
Europe ten opportunities for gaining experience to one here. While we
have a few more opera companies than twenty-five years ago, it is still
a great task to secure even an opening. Americans, outside of the great
cities, do not seem to be especially inclined toward opera. They will
accept a little of it when it is given to them by a superb company like
the Metropolitan. In New York we find a public more cosmopolitan than in
any other city of the world, with the possible exception of London. In
immediate ancestry it is more European than American, and naturally
opera becomes a great public demand. Seats sell at fabulous prices and
the houses are crowded. Next comes opera at popular prices; and we have
one or two very good companies giving that with success. Then there is
the opera in America's other cosmopolitan center, Chicago, where many
world-famed artists appear. After that, opera in America is hardly worth
mentioning. What chance has the student? Only one who for years has been
uniformed in a black dress suit and backed into the curve of the grand
piano in a recital hall can know what it means to get out on the
operatic stage, in those fantastic clothes,