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Confessions of an Opera Singer By: Kathleen Howard (1884-1956) |
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CONFESSIONS OF AN OPERA SINGER BY KATHLEEN HOWARD NEW YORK MCMXVIII ALFRED A. KNOPF COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY KATHLEEN HOWARD BAIRD Published September 1918 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA To Marjorie FOREWORD So many fantastic tales have come to us of students' life abroad, of their temptations, trials, finances, successes and failures, that I have attempted to give here the true story of the preparation for an operatic career, and its fruition. My road leads from New York to Paris, to Germany and thence to London, and back to the Metropolitan Opera House. My operatic experiences in Germany are inalienably associated with the lives of the people, particularly with the German officer class, viewed publicly and privately; in fact in the town where I was first engaged, Metz, I found they were as vital a part of the Opera house life as the singers themselves. Their arrogance tainted the town life as well, and here I first became acquainted with the pitiful attempt at swagger and brilliancy which often covered a state of grinding poverty, or the thwarted natural domestic instincts which were ruthlessly sacrificed to the "uniform" the all desirable entrée to society, for which no price was too high to pay. I hope this book will be of interest not only to those whose goal is the operatic or concert stage, but to those to whom "human documents" appeal. It is a story of real people, real obstacles overcome, and contains much intimate talk of back stage life in opera houses. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I THE WAY IT ALL HAPPENED 13 II A STRUGGLE AND A SOLUTION 21 III PARIS AT LAST 30 IV PENSION PERSONALITIES 39 V OPERATIC FRANCE VERSUS OPERATIC GERMANY 50 VI PREPARING RÔLES IN BERLIN 59 VII MY FIRST OPERATIC CONTRACT SIGNED 67 VIII MY ONE LONE IMPROPOSITION 76 IX THE MAKINGS OF A SMALL MUNICIPAL OPERA HOUSE 85 X MY DÉBUT AND BREAKING INTO HARNESS 100 XI SOME STAGE DELIGHTS 110 XII MISPLACED MOISTURE AND THE STORY OF A COURT LADY 123 XIII HUMAN PASSIONS AND SMALLPOX 139 XIV DISCOURAGEMENTS THAT LED TO A COURT THEATRE 153 XV SALARIES AND A TENOR'S GENIUS 164 XVI THE ART OF MARIE MUELLE 172 XVII THE NON MILITARY SIDE OF A GERMAN OFFICER'S LIFE 184 XVIII GEESE AND GUESTS 199 XIX RUSSIANS, COMMON AND PREFERRED 206 XX THE GRANDMOTHERS' BALLET 220 XXI STAGE FASHIONS AND THE GLORY OF COLOUR 230 XXII ROYAL HUMOUR 242 XXIII COVENT GARDEN AND AMERICA 257 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Kathleen Howard Frontispiece I Carmen as I Used to Dress It 76 II Carmen as I Now Dress It 84 I Amneris as I Used to Dress It 126 II Amneris as I Now Dress It 134 I Dalila as I Used to Dress It 172 II Dalila as I Now Dress It 180 Caruso's Caricature of Kathleen Howard 260 CHAPTER I THE WAY IT ALL HAPPENED I was very young and I was engaged to be married. We had just lost our money in rather dramatic fashion, and we were all doing what we could to supply the sudden deficit. My sister began to prepare herself to be a teacher, my brother left his boarding school and came home to go into a friend's office, and I well, I accepted the hand and heart of the young man in our set with whom I had had most pleasure in dancing in winter and sailing in summer... Continue reading book >>
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