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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Geraldine Farrar, by Geraldine Farrar
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Geraldine Farrar
+       The Story of an American Singer
+
+Author: Geraldine Farrar
+
+Release Date: June 16, 2010 [EBook #32835]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GERALDINE FARRAR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images available at The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: book's cover]
+
+GERALDINE FARRAR
+
+_THE STORY
+
+OF AN AMERICAN SINGER_
+
+[Illustration: _Photo by Victor Georg_
+
+Signature of Geraldine Farrar]
+
+
+
+
+GERALDINE FARRAR
+
+THE STORY
+
+OF AN AMERICAN SINGER
+
+BY
+
+HERSELF
+
+WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+[Illustration]
+
+BOSTON AND NEW YORK
+
+HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
+
+MDCCCCXVI
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1915 AND 1916, BY THE CURTIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY GERALDINE FARRAR-TELLEGEN
+
+ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
+
+_Published March 1916_
+
+
+
+
+A DEDICATION
+
+
+In offering these little sketches of some of the interesting events that
+have helped shape a career now fairly familiar to the general public, it
+has not been my intention to weary the indulgent reader with a lengthy
+dissertation of literary pretension, or tiresome data resulting from the
+obvious and oft-recurring "I."
+
+From out the storehouse of memory, impressions crystallized into form
+without regard to time or place, and it was more than a passing pleasure
+to jot them down at haphazard; in the quiet of my library, on the flying
+train, or again, beneath the witchery of California skies, I scribbled
+as the mood prompted, as I would converse with an interested and
+congenial listener.
+
+It is not, perhaps, a New England characteristic to expand in
+affectionate eulogy for the satisfaction of a curious public, but the
+threads of these recollections are so closely interwoven with maternal
+love and devotion, that this volume would be incomplete without its
+rightful dedication to
+
+MY MOTHER
+
+G. F.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+I. MY LIFE AS A CHILD                        1
+
+II. THE DRAMATIC IMPULSE                     8
+
+III. I RESOLVE TO SING "CARMEN"             18
+
+IV. MY FIRST DAYS IN MY DREAM WORLD         28
+
+V. I REFUSE TO SING AT THE METROPOLITAN     36
+
+VI. PARIS                                   42
+
+VII. GERMANY: THE TURNING-POINT             50
+
+VIII. IMPERIAL ENCOURAGEMENT                59
+
+IX. ON TOUR; MONTE CARLO AND STOCKHOLM      68
+
+X. MY FOURTH SEASON                         77
+
+XI. LEAVING BERLIN                          84
+
+XII. MY FIRST APPEARANCE IN NEW YORK        89
+
+XIII. MISUNDERSTANDINGS                     99
+
+XIV. THE DAYS I NOW ENJOY                  108
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+"_Columbia_"
+(_From a photograph by Ira L. Hill_)        _Jacket illustration_
+
+_Geraldine Farrar_
+(_From a recent photograph by Victor Georg_)       _Frontispiece_
+
+_Miss Farrar as a Little Girl in Melrose_                      2
+
+_Mr. and Mrs. Sydney D. Farrar_                                4
+
+_Miss Farrar and her First Singing Teacher, Mrs. Long_         8
+
+_A Young Girl with a Phenomenal Soprano Voice_                12
+
+_Growing up_                                                  16
+
+_The Goose Girl and her Flock_                                22
+
+_Calvé as "Carmen"_                                           24
+
+_Jean de Reszke_                                              26
+
+_Emma Thursby_                                                28
+
+_Melba as "Marguerite"_                                       30
+
+_Miss Farrar and her Mother_                                  32
+
+_Dr. Holbrook Curtis_                                         36
+
+_Maurice Grau_                                                38
+
+_Five Well-known Parts_                                       42
+
+_Camille Saint-Saëns_                                         46
+
+_"I spent the Summer in Brittany"_                            50
+
+_The Royal Opera House, Berlin_                               52
+
+_The Kaiser_                                                  54
+
+_"My Third Season opened in 'Traviata'"_                      56
+
+_At Frau von Rath's_                                          60
+
+_Lilli Lehmann_                                               62
+
+_The Crown Prince of Germany_                                 64
+
+_Cécile, Crown Princess of Germany, and her Children_         66
+
+_Massenet_                                                    68
+
+_Marconi_                                                     70
+
+_Caruso_                                                      72
+
+_King Oscar of Sweden_                                        74
+
+_"Sans Gêne"_                                                 80
+
+_"La Tosca"_                                                  82
+
+_Wolf-Ferrari_                                                84
+
+_Leaving Berlin_                                              86
+
+_Mark Twain_                                                  90
+
+_"Madame Butterfly"_                                          92
+
+_David Belasco_                                               94
+
+_Sarah Bernhardt_                                             96
+
+_"As Pretty a Flock of Birds as one could find"_             100
+
+_As the Goose Girl in "Königskinder"_                        102
+
+_Kate Douglas Wiggin_                                        104
+
+_Miss Farrar and Caruso in "Julian"_                         106
+
+_As "Carmen"_                                                108
+
+_Work and play in California_                                110
+
+_Making New Friends in the Movies_                           112
+
+_Miss Farrar and Mr. Tellegen_ (_Photograph Reproduced by
+courtesy of the International Film Service, inc._)           114
+
+
+
+
+GERALDINE FARRAR
+
+THE STORY OF AN AMERICAN SINGER
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+MY LIFE AS A CHILD
+
+
+I believe that a benevolent Fate has had watch over me. Some have called
+it luck; some have spoken of the hard work and the many years of study;
+others have cited my career as an instance of American pluck and
+perseverance. But deep down in my heart I feel much has been directed by
+Fate. This God-sent gift of song was bestowed upon me for some purpose,
+I know not what. It may fail me to-morrow, to-night; at any moment
+something may mar the delicate instrument, and then all the
+perseverance, pluck, study, and luck in the world will not restore it to
+me. If early in life I dimly sensed this insecurity, yet always have I
+gone onward and onward, eager for that which Fate had in store for me,
+and accepting gladly those rewards and opportunities which in the course
+of my career have been popularly referred to as "Farrar's luck."
+
+Yet do not think that I waited in idleness to see what Fate would bring.
+From the days of my earliest recollection I have labored unceasingly to
+attain the goal which I believed and hope Destiny had marked out for me.
+My mother tells me that before I was five I had already shown strong
+musical tendencies. By the time I was ten I had visions of studying
+abroad. At the age of twelve I had heard the music of almost the entire
+grand opera repertoire. By the time I was sixteen I was studying in
+Paris.
+
+My earliest memories take me back to my home town, Melrose,
+Massachusetts, a small but very attractive city not far from Boston. I
+can recall a large room with an open fireplace and flames flashing from
+a log fire into which I spent many hours gazing, trying to conjure up
+strange and fanciful shapes and figures. From the fireplace, so my
+mother tells me, I would stroll to the great, old-fashioned square piano
+in the corner, and, standing on tiptoe, would strum upon the keys. I
+suppose I was two or three years old at the time, yet it seems to me
+that I was striving to give expression musically to the strange shapes
+and figures suggested by the fire and by my vivid imagination.
+
+[Illustration: A LITTLE GIRL IN MELROSE]
+
+Hereditary influences must have helped to shape my musical career. My
+mother and father both sang in the First Universalist Church of Melrose.
+Mother's father, Dennis Barnes, of Melrose, had been a musician, and had
+organized a little orchestra which played on special occasions. He gave
+violin lessons and composed, and there is a tradition that in his
+boyhood days he learned to play the violin from an Italian fiddler, and
+afterward constructed his own instrument, pulling hairs from the tail of
+an old white horse to make the bow.
+
+My father, Sydney D. Farrar, owned a store in Melrose when I was born.
+In the summer time he played baseball with a local amateur team with
+such success that, when I was two years old, he was engaged by the
+Philadelphia National League Baseball Club as first baseman. He was a
+professional ball-player with the Philadelphia team for several years.
+Yet during the winters he was always in Melrose, looking after business.
+Both he and my mother were very fond of music, singing every week in the
+church quartet and sometimes at concerts.
+
+The house in which I was born is still standing, a large, old-fashioned
+building on Mount Vernon Street, Melrose, which my father rented from
+the Houghton estate. It is next door to the Blake house, a well-known
+local landmark. Most of my early life was spent in this house, although
+subsequently we moved twice to occupy other houses in the neighborhood.
+
+My mother says that I was a happy baby, crooning and humming to myself,
+singing when other babies usually cry. She says that the familiar airs
+of the barrel organs, which were played in the street every day, were
+all added to my repertoire in due time, correct as to melody, although I
+was too young to enunciate properly. My mother did not think it out of
+the ordinary for her baby to be so musically inclined, young as I was. I
+was her first and only child.
+
+When I was three years old I sang in my first church concert. My
+childish voice rose up bravely; and my mother distinctly remembers that
+I had perfect self-possession and never showed the slightest sign of
+stage fright. When my song was finished, and the kind applause had
+subsided, I stepped to the edge of the platform and spoke to her down in
+the front row.
+
+"Did I do it well, mamma?" I asked, not at all disconcerted while every
+one laughed.
+
+I cannot remember the time when I did not intend to sing and act. As
+soon as I was a little older it was decided that I should take piano
+lessons.
+
+[Illustration: MR. AND MRS. SYDNEY D. FARRAR]
+
+But at once I made strenuous objection to the necessary restraint, an
+objection which in after years manifested itself in much that I
+attempted. I could not force myself to study according to rule or
+tradition. I wanted to try out things my own way, according to impulse,
+just when and how the spirit within me moved. I could not drudge at
+scales, and therefore found the lessons irksome. I preferred to
+improvise upon the piano, and I had a strange fondness for playing
+everything upon the black keys.
+
+"Why do you use only the black keys?" my mother asked me once.
+
+"Because the white keys seem like angels and the black keys like devils,
+and I like devils best," I replied. It was the soft half-tones of the
+black keys which fascinated me, and to this day I prefer their sensuous
+harmony to that of the more brilliant "angels."
+
+My mother offered me a tricycle--one of those weird three-wheeled
+vehicles in vogue at the time--if I would learn my piano lessons
+according to rule; but I had all too little patience and my father gave
+me the tricycle anyhow, as well as a pony later. These were some of my
+few amusements. In fact, I cared little for child's play at any time in
+my early youth, and nothing for outdoor sports. I spent most of my time
+with books and music, or playing with animals.
+
+Among my animal friends was a large Newfoundland dog. One day my mother
+came into the back yard and found me trying to make him act as a horse,
+attached by a rough harness to an improvised plough I had made of wood
+to dig up the back garden. I loved dogs, and once my mother had me
+photographed seated on a large painted wooden dog.
+
+Another childish amusement was to put fantastic costumes on the cats and
+pretend that they were actors or actresses. In time there were added to
+the cats and dog a chameleon, a pair of small alligators, guinea-pigs,
+rabbits, a bullfinch, and a robin with a broken wing. I was passionately
+fond of flowers as well, and my own small garden was a source of pride
+and pleasure.
+
+The world of make-believe was becoming very real to me by this time. I
+dramatized everything. I had the utmost confidence in my choice to
+become a great singer, for at all times I was busy with music, either
+alone or with my mother. It did not occur to me that I could possibly
+fail in achieving my object, and yet I was so sincere and felt so
+impelled to try to "touch the stars" that I do not believe it could be
+called conceit. Young as I was, I felt that with my song I could soar to
+another world and revel in poetry and music.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE DRAMATIC IMPULSE
+
+
+At five I was sent to school. Among my teachers in the Grove Street
+School, Melrose, was Miss Alice Swett, who remains a dear, good friend
+to this day. She was ever kind and sympathetic to me, and I always loved
+her, although I was often rebellious and unmanageable. My own reckless
+nature, impatient at restraint, could never endure the order and
+confinement of the classroom.
+
+The dynamic energy, which has suffered little curb in the passing of
+years, was even then a characteristic to be reckoned with; displays of
+lively temper were not infrequent, but the method of punishment at an
+isolated desk in view of the entire class was far too enjoyable to serve
+as a correction for my ebullient spirits and was abruptly discontinued.
+
+Miss Swett was my teacher for several years. While her affection and
+trust never wavered, I doubt if she ever quite understood the
+harum-scarum girl in her charge.
+
+[Illustration: MISS FARRAR AND MRS. LONG, HER FIRST SINGING TEACHER]
+
+Only the other day, visiting me in my New York home and commenting
+upon some unconventional act of mine, she sighed and said: "Geraldine,
+where are you going to end?"
+
+"Well, I may brush the gallows in the wild flight of my career," I
+replied laughingly, "but I'll never be really hanged."
+
+Those years at the Grove Street School, when I was developing from
+childhood into young girlhood, were full of excitement, romance, and
+expectations. But I looked upon them as a trying period which had to be
+endured before I could devote myself entirely to my ambition. I was full
+of both temper and temperament, and an unlimited supply of high spirits
+which manifested themselves in various unusual ways--singing and acting,
+idealizing myself as many of the heroines whose gracious images
+intoxicated my imagination. At times I walked on air, and always my head
+was filled with dreams and hopes of this marvelous career.
+
+It was at this time that I wrote a play, "Rapunzel of the Golden Hair,"
+based upon an old fairy story. As usual I wished always to be the
+heroine, yet Fate had not bestowed the necessary golden locks upon me.
+My dark hair was worn short, and I must have looked much like an impish
+boy. Then, my dramatic vision had soulful eyes and an angelic
+expression. But instead of looking like an angel I was more like a gypsy
+at the distressing gosling stage, too undeveloped; yet I dreamed of the
+times when I would appear before immense audiences as the beautiful
+heroine of my dreams and hold them fascinated by my song and
+personality. I always had the utmost faith in a certain power of
+magnetism; it seemed as though from my youngest days I felt that I could
+influence others, and often I experimented just to see what effects I
+could produce.
+
+The impulse to dramatize everything found an opportunity, when I was
+about ten years old, in the arrival in town of the brother of a girl
+friend. This boy, slightly older than I, had been educated in England
+and had brought back exquisite manners and an English accent that
+greatly impressed the young ladies of my class. I need hardly mention
+the fact that these attributes were looked upon with contempt by the
+masculine element, who had no small measure of derision for the youthful
+Chesterfield. I had cared little for and never encouraged boy
+sweethearts, but this youngster's exclusive admiration did arouse my
+interest. I felt flattered for a short time. But alas! he was unmusical
+to a degree, and companionship suddenly terminated, on my side, when I
+found that he was to be neither subjugated by my singing nor thrilled
+by my acting.
+
+One day I rebuffed him when he tried to walk home with me after school,
+offering to carry my books. Puzzled, he made a formal call on my mother,
+doubtless with a view to a reconciliation, and asked permission to
+accompany me as usual.
+
+My mother laughed and told him to ask me.
+
+"I have asked Miss Geraldine," he said sadly; "but she does not seem to
+care for my attentions."
+
+A few days later he went skating, the ice broke, and he was drowned.
+Instantly I became a widow. Drama--real drama--had come into my life,
+and with all the feeling of an instinctive actress I played my rôle. I
+dressed in black; abandoned all gayeties; went to and from school
+mopping my eyes with a black-bordered handkerchief; and the other boys
+and girls stood aside in silence as I passed, leaving me alone with my
+grief.
+
+For six weeks I played the tragedy; and then in the twinkling of an eye
+the mood, in which I had been genuinely serious, passed away. In life
+this young boy had meant absolutely nothing to me; in death he became a
+dramatic possibility which I utilized unconsciously as an outlet for my
+emotion. I was not pretending; I was terribly in earnest. I actually
+believed in my grief. Who can say that it was "only acting"?
+
+A temper, which I regret to confess time has not very much chastened,
+came to the front in my school days, to the dismay of my mother. In
+1892, when I was ten years old, the city of Melrose held a carnival and
+celebration to commemorate the four-hundredth anniversary of the
+discovery of America. Floats were planned to represent the thirteen
+original States. The selection of the school girl to impersonate
+Massachusetts fell to my class in the Grove Street School, and I was
+anxious for this honor, not only because of the personal glory and
+prominence, but because I really believed that I could impersonate
+Massachusetts better than any other girl in the class!
+
+Well, I did appear as Massachusetts, and, with the other "twelve
+States," was driven through the streets of Melrose, mounted on the
+float, bearing the flag of the nation. But two girls in the school, who
+had voted against me in the election, watched me from afar with swollen
+and blackened eyes; I had struck them in a moment of quick anger because
+their choice had been against me.
+
+[Illustration: A YOUNG GIRL WITH A PHENOMENAL SOPRANO VOICE]
+
+The following winter, while many of the boys and girls were skating,
+a boy of twelve or thirteen, named Clarence, annoyed me exceedingly by
+trying to trip me with his hockey stick. I warned him three times that
+he "had better let me alone," but he persisted in his persecution. After
+the third time, I skated to shore, picked up my umbrella, carefully tore
+three of the steel ribs from it and, with these as a whip, I thrashed
+Clarence. Clarence "sat" with discomfort for some days, and I believe
+his mother seriously contemplated making a police charge against me for
+beating him.
+
+This temper--or temperament--often found expression at home in moods,
+when for hours, sometimes days, I wouldn't break silence. If any one
+interfered with or spoke to me during these moments I felt just as
+though some one were combing my nerves the wrong way with a fine,
+grating comb. My mother was wise enough to leave me alone in my intense
+irritability and depression. She appreciated the extremes of my nature,
+which were somewhat like the well-known little girl of our childhood
+rhymes:
+
+    "When she was good she was very, very good,
+      And when she was bad she was horrid."
+
+I fear, at times, I was very, very horrid. But I planned a danger
+signal! One day I came home with a pair of most distinctive
+black-and-white checked stockings, the most hideous things one can
+imagine.
+
+"Mother," I said, "when I wear these stockings I want to be let alone."
+
+Thus it was an understood thing that no one should speak to me or notice
+me in the least while these horrors adorned me. Perhaps after a few
+hours, or a day, I would go up the back stairs, change my stockings--and
+the sun would shine again.
+
+It was at this time that I was the victim of an accident which resulted
+in a neat bit of surgery. My mother and I were spending a summer in the
+little village of Sandwich, New Hampshire. I was crazy to carve a small
+horse out of wood, and went down to the woodshed in the rear of the
+country house where we were staying, armed with a hatchet and followed
+by an admiring youngster from the village. The hatchet was very sharp.
+My experience in carving wooden horses was limited. Suddenly the hatchet
+came down and clipped a tiny bit off the extreme ends of my left thumb
+and forefinger.
+
+I screamed with agony and cried in amazement as the poor little bleeding
+tips of my fingers fell to the floor, but the country boy, with
+wonderful presence of mind, picked them up, and keeping them warm in his
+closed hand, ran with me at full speed to the nearest doctor.
+Fortunately, he happened to be at home. When the village boy showed him
+the wounded hand and the tiny bleeding bits of finger, he clamped them
+instantly on the fingers where they belonged, put on ointments, and
+bound them tight with bandages. This marvelous surgery, without a stitch
+being taken, actually was successful; the fingers healed, and now only a
+slight scar remains.
+
+I regret to say that this physician, whose presence of mind thus saved
+my fingers from being permanently mutilated, is entirely unknown to me
+now. Some few years ago, in Boston, I told this story in an interview,
+and a physician wrote me from some other city that he was the man who
+had saved my fingers for me. I wrote and thanked him for his kindness
+toward a little girl; but his letter was mislaid and destroyed, so that
+even now I do not know his name. Wherever he is, however, he will always
+have my thanks and warmest admiration.
+
+Finally, the time came for me to enter the Melrose High School. I
+objected seriously to the further routine of public schooling, as I
+wished to study only music. But both my father and mother insisted; so I
+began the study of languages. I was intensely interested in mythology,
+history, and literature, but I hated mathematics. I always preferred to
+count on my fingers rather than to use my brain for such merely
+mechanical feats as adding or multiplying figures. In the study of
+languages I soon found that my teachers were excellent grammarians, but
+I pleaded that I wanted to learn to talk and not merely to conjugate.
+
+I took a supplementary course in literature, and well remember the most
+important incident when I competed for the prize. I was quite sure my
+essay would win. In fancy I had already rehearsed the pretty speech in
+which I should thank the committee for the honor conferred on me. But
+the prize went to some one else. My anger was sudden and hot. Then and
+there I made up my mind that if ever I could not be first in what I
+attempted, I would drop it at once. I believed my material was best and
+deserved the prize, and I was hurt at not conquering before an admiring
+and enthusiastic audience!
+
+[Illustration: GROWING UP]
+
+Thus I early learned that maybe I could not always win, could not always
+be first; that perseverance must aid natural talents; and that it is
+cowardly to drop a thing when at first you don't succeed. The sting of
+adverse criticism may often prove the best of tonics! I have since found
+it so.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+I RESOLVE TO SING CARMEN
+
+
+Each spring in Melrose there was a May Carnival. One of the features of
+the carnival in 1894, when I was twelve years old, was a pageant of
+famous women impersonated by local talent. I was selected to represent
+Jenny Lind and was told by the committee that I must sing "Home, Sweet
+Home," but with characteristic disregard for the expected tradition I
+decided to sing an aria in Italian first. The prima donna of my dreams
+would naturally dazzle her hearers with a selection in some foreign
+tongue, and then graciously respond to the clamorous multitude with a
+simple ballad.
+
+I had this stage effect quite planned in my mind. I didn't know a word
+of Italian; but studied one song by myself from "Faust"--Siebel's song
+which Scalchi used to sing in the old days and one seldom heard now. My
+Italian may have been incomprehensible to a native, certainly it did not
+disconcert Melrosians; my _aplomb_ was richly rewarded by numerous
+recalls, just as I had dared to hope, and "Home, Sweet Home" was given
+with due seriousness. I was happy and excited; I was "arriving" at
+last! Also I wore my first low-neck dress.
+
+Incidentally, this episode in the Melrose Town Hall is made vivid in my
+memory by two notable happenings. The first is--shades of vanity!--that
+I wore a new pair of perfectly lovely shoes that were too tight for me
+(but looked so nice); so, after singing the encore, I was obliged to
+retire behind a stout lady on the stage and take them off. When the
+carnival was over, I found to my distress that I could not get them on
+again, and I walked home in my stocking feet!
+
+The second episode of this day really marked a turning point in my
+career. A friend who heard me sing happened to be a pupil of Mrs. J. H.
+Long, the best-known singing teacher in Boston at that time, and this
+friend insisted that I must go into Boston and sing for Mrs. Long. I was
+tremulous with joy (still in my stocking feet), and my mother and
+I--breathless--told my father the news that arrangements were to be made
+for me to sing at last before a real singing teacher!
+
+My father eyed us and shook his head thoughtfully, looking at my mother
+as though to say: "She's encouraging the child in all this tomfoolery."
+For, while he himself had a splendid natural voice and loved music and
+was proud of my childish achievements, I doubt if at that time he could
+foresee the practical side of a musical career. But my mother and I were
+heart and soul for the idea, and sing I would and must.
+
+Finally came the "day of days," and it poured. Alas for the favorable
+impression I had hoped to create! My hair had been tightly rolled in
+lead all night to obtain the desired "crimps"; I hadn't closed an eye
+from the discomfort and nervousness; and here was the fateful hour at
+hand, with no vestige of a "crimp," my face pale with excitement, though
+I pinched my cheeks cruelly to make the "roses" come, and my muslin
+frock out of the question in such weather. I felt like a veritable
+Cinderella in my plain, dark suit.
+
+However, off we started, half an hour's ride on the train. What I
+suffered in apprehension; how dizzy I felt, and what a queer feeling I
+had in the pit of my stomach! I could have wept from the tension. Could
+this drooping young person be the erstwhile very confident embryo prima
+donna?
+
+Mrs. Long, of fond memory, put me at once at my ease with her kindly
+manner. Her great brown eyes looked into mine and inspired me with such
+confidence that soon I was warbling as freely as if I were at home
+alone. I no longer heeded the rain, my appearance, or my surroundings.
+To my delight I was accepted at once as a pupil, and it is to this
+excellent and thorough teacher that I can give thanks for proper
+guidance in my early years. My aversion and distaste for the drudgery of
+scales and routine manifested itself quickly, but Mrs. Long knew the
+best arguments for my rebellious little soul, and, as I really did wish
+to become a great and noble singer, I worked as faithfully at my tasks
+as I could.
+
+Meanwhile I began to sing occasionally in the Congregational Church in
+Melrose. My mother from this time kept a scrapbook of newspaper notices
+concerning me, for I was now beginning to become known as a local
+celebrity. The first clipping in my mother's scrapbook is from the
+"Melrose Journal" of May 21, 1895, and is as follows:--
+
+     Miss Geraldine Farrar, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. D. Farrar, has a
+     voice of great power and richness. Many who heard her for the first
+     time, at the Vesper service last Sunday afternoon, were greatly
+     surprised. She is only thirteen years of age, but has a future of
+     great promise, and it is believed that Melrose will some day be
+     proud of her attainments in the world of music.
+
+As a result of the church singing and the fact that I was actually
+studying in Boston under the famous Mrs. Long, I was invited to sing at
+my first regular concert. The programme, carefully preserved by my
+mother, shows that it was organized by Miss Eudora F. Parkhurst in aid
+of the piano fund for the Melrose Highlands Congregational Vestry and
+that it took place on Wednesday evening, January 15, 1896, in the Town
+Hall of Melrose. I sang two numbers, "Non conosci il bel suol," from
+"Mignon" (I note my Italian had improved), and Auguste's "Bird on the
+Wing." Of this interesting event, my first public appearance in concert,
+the "Melrose Journal" of the next day said:--
+
+     Miss Eudora Parkhurst's concert in aid of the piano fund of the
+     Highland Congregational Church, given in the Town Hall Wednesday
+     evening, attracted a small audience. Miss Parkhurst, who is a very
+     young lady and herself a musician of considerable ability, put a
+     great deal of work into the concert and its details, and it is to
+     be regretted that it could not have been better patronized. Miss
+     Geraldine Farrar was the leading attraction, rendering her two
+     solos with great confidence and ability. For her first number she
+     sang "Non conosci il bel suol," from "Mignon," rendering the
+     difficult music with surprising ease and fidelity, receiving a
+     recall. Her second number, "Bird on the Wing," was also well
+     received. The Alpine Quartet, of Woburn, Miss Cora Cummings, banjo
+     soloist, Miss Welma Cummings and Miss Parkhurst, violinists, and
+     Miss Bessie Adams, reciter, were the other attractions. Mr. Grant
+     Drake presided at the piano as accompanist.
+
+[Illustration: THE GOOSE GIRL AND HER FLOCK]
+
+I find in my personal notes of comment on this interesting programme
+that I disliked the banjo as an instrument, though Miss Cummings played
+well, and that Mr. Drake, the pianist, was "very nice." Even in those
+days I was given to analysis.
+
+My success at this recital led directly to another public
+appearance--February 5, 1896--in the Y.M.C.A. Hall at Melrose, at a
+concert given by Miss Jennie Mae Spencer, a Boston contralto, through
+whose friendship and advice I had gone to study with Mrs. Long. This was
+the first time my name appeared in large type as one of the principal
+singers, and I was greatly pleased.
+
+This was the first paying professional appearance I ever made; for
+singing one number and a duet with Miss Spencer I received the
+magnificent sum of ten dollars. But this concert called me to the
+attention of the music critics of Boston, and the critic of the "Boston
+Times" wrote:--
+
+     Miss Geraldine Farrar is a young girl who has a phenomenal soprano
+     voice and gives promise of becoming a great singer.
+
+My marginal criticism on this concert programme shows that Mr. J. C.
+Bartlett, the tenor, was "fine"; Miss Bell Temple, reader, was "good";
+Mr. Wulf Fries, the 'cellist, was "elegant"; and Mr. Drake, the pianist,
+was "nice," as usual.
+
+These two concerts were followed by further careful study under Mrs.
+Long, and then at last came the eventful night when I made my real début
+in Boston at the annual recital given by her pupils. I shall never
+forget the date, Tuesday evening, May 26, 1896. I was fourteen at the
+time, having celebrated my birthday in February. The recital took place
+in Association Hall, and I wore a simple little white dress with green
+trimmings. On the programme of this memorable event, carefully pasted in
+a scrapbook by my mother, I find this comment written in my own hand:
+"This is what I made my début in, very calm and sedate, not the least
+nervous."
+
+Following my critical tendencies at the other concerts, I find the
+programme of this first recital filled with marginal comments. Most of
+my remarks were very flattering to my fellow pupils. Concerning Miss
+Leveroni, who afterward studied abroad and returned to America to sing
+with Henry Russell's grand opera company, I wrote: "Very nice,
+gestures natural." Others were "pretty good," "very fine," or "very
+nervous," and only one pupil was criticized as "Bad, off key."
+
+[Illustration: CALVÉ AS CARMEN]
+
+The Boston newspapers always gave extended notices to the recitals of
+Mrs. Long's pupils, and this was no exception. I was mentioned
+favorably, but it remained for the dear old "Melrose Reporter" to give
+me a most extraordinary and almost prophetic criticism. I quote from the
+newspaper clipping so carefully preserved by my mother:--
+
+     The Cavatina from "Il Barbiere," sung by Miss Geraldine Farrar,
+     will interest those in Melrose who were not able to attend the
+     recital. For many months musical people have waited the gradual
+     development of this phenomenal voice, a God-given power which the
+     child has sent forth with a freedom, compass, and quality that has
+     demanded the admiration of our best Boston critics. Notwithstanding
+     the florid and extreme difficulties of the Cavatina, the execution
+     and reserved force, absolutely fresh and firm for each attack, was
+     a triumph and a revelation of tone power. She sang without notes,
+     and embraced the beautiful flowers showered upon her, as
+     unconscious of her success as though she had stood among her mates
+     and told a simple story. With hopeful anticipation, her many loving
+     friends will follow her future which seems already unfolding, and
+     as the child glides to womanhood, our little twinkling star may
+     rise by and by from dear Melrose, and become resplendent in the
+     musical firmament, where all the world will love to listen and do
+     her homage.
+
+The first flowers sent to me at this recital, carefully dried and
+pressed, are still one of my dearest souvenirs; and I also treasure
+carefully the first card of good wishes sent to me on that occasion. It
+bears the carefully engraved name of "Mr. John E. Pilling," and
+underneath is written: "May success always attend you." I hope Mr.
+Pilling, if he ever sees these lines, will accept the long-deferred
+thanks of the little Melrose girl to whom he sent such an encouraging
+message.
+
+In my last year of study under Mrs. Long I reveled for the first time in
+the joys of grand opera. That winter in Boston, the Castle Square Opera
+Company, an excellent organization managed by Henry W. Savage, was
+presenting grand opera in English at the old Castle Square Theater. The
+leading singers were J. K. Murray and his wife, Clara Lane. I became a
+subscriber to this excellent company's performances on Wednesday
+matinées. To me these matinées were meat and drink; all performances
+were well supported by music-lovers in the vicinity. It was Clara Lane
+whom I first heard sing "Carmen," a rôle which has recently figured
+so successfully in my own repertoire at the Metropolitan in New York.
+During these enjoyable weeks I heard this company sing most of the grand
+opera repertoire, in English, and I was thrilled and fascinated.
+
+[Illustration: JEAN DE RESZKE]
+
+Then came another great and unexpected joy. The Maurice Grau Grand Opera
+Company, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, visited Boston
+for a spring season at Mechanics Hall. My mother decided that I must
+hear Calvé sing "Carmen." The cast included Jean de Reszke, then at the
+height of his success; Emma Eames, Saleza, Pol Plançon as the toreador,
+and of course the wonderful Calvé. I completely lost my head over this
+remarkable performance. For days and nights I reveled in the memories of
+that magnificent representation. This, then, was the visualization of
+all my dreams of years. This triumph I had witnessed was that toward
+which all my hopes, fears, and prayers had been directed. This wonderful
+creature was what I hoped--nay, intended--to become. And then and there
+was born within me a fervent and earnest decision that, come what may, I
+too must some day sing "Carmen" with the most wonderful cast of grand
+opera artists in the world, at the Metropolitan in New York.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+MY FIRST DAYS IN MY DREAM WORLD
+
+
+My meeting with Jean de Reszke is stamped vividly in my memory, since he
+was the first personage from that beautiful dream world of opera that it
+was my privilege to meet. Music lovers of America need no reminder of
+his tremendous vogue as a man and his wonderful career as an artist. I
+had the opportunity to sing for him through Jehangier Cola, a Hindu
+professor who at the time was interesting Boston society with his
+Oriental teachings. Just how I met him I cannot recall, but he had
+personal acquaintance with many of the artists, both here and abroad;
+and so one rainy morning (dismal weather always seemed to accompany such
+ventures) my mother and I, escorted by Professor Cola, descended at the
+Parker House where the de Reszke brothers, Jean and Edouard, were
+stopping.
+
+[Illustration: EMMA THURSBY]
+
+I remember that I played my own accompaniment and sang rather
+indifferently; the inspiring "mood" was not to be commanded. Mr. de
+Reszke listened politely, probably having been bored often by many
+such young aspirants, and gave me sensible advice that could apply to
+the average girl of intelligence and enthusiastic musical ambitions. I
+recall that I listened attentively and seriously, quite realizing that
+Mr. de Reszke could hardly glean other than the most superficial of
+impressions after hearing a stranger for half an hour, and then hardly
+at her best.
+
+Upon his advice to go to New York and consult a teacher of whom he had
+heard excellent reports, my mother and I made plans for such an
+immediate change. My father listened in passive amazement, but
+acquiesced, as he always has, in the belief that whatever emotional
+tornado should overtake me, my mother's steadying influence would
+maintain the necessary equilibrium.
+
+I shall never forget my excitement and curiosity upon our arrival in New
+York. The first thing I wanted to see was the Metropolitan Opera House.
+The great yellow building at the corner of Broadway and Thirty-ninth
+Street seemed to promise all kinds of wonderful possibilities and the
+fulfillment of my dreams. Little thrills of hope made my heart sing and
+my spirits soar as I looked at the billboards and whispered to myself:
+"Some day I _will_, I _must_, sing there. My name shall adorn those
+walls and spell enchantment to the passing crowd." I walked on air,
+absorbed in the rosy future I was planning so confidently for myself.
+
+The teacher who had been recommended to me for this visit to New York
+was dear old Louisa Cappiani, bless her! She who had been the teacher of
+many of the light-opera singers was greatly pleased at my singing, and
+wanted me to sign a three years' exclusive contract with her, but my
+mother decided that I was too young to have my future controlled in any
+way.
+
+The arrival of hot weather drove us to the country; so with great regret
+I said good-bye to Cappiani, and we started for Greenacre, Maine, and it
+was there that I met Miss Emma Thursby. She occupied an enviable
+position in New York musical circles and was recognized as an excellent
+authority on voice. She was kind enough to say that she would be glad to
+have me study with her when she returned to New York, and so it happened
+that the following autumn found us back there, and I commenced my
+studies with her.
+
+[Illustration: MELBA AS MARGUERITE]
+
+That winter of 1897-98 was full of excitement and thrills for me. In
+addition to my studies with Miss Thursby I went to the opera and
+theaters as often as I could afford it. And what a whirlwind of
+emotions it was! Melba in "Faust," "Romeo and Juliet," and "Lucia";
+Calvé, the peerless "Carmen"; magnificent Lehmann (later to become my
+revered teacher and dear friend); the incomparable Jean de Reszke;
+handsome Pol Plançon; sprightly Campanari in the "Barber"--memories
+crowd in upon me!--not forgetting the versatile Bauermeister of all
+rôles. I rarely had a seat, but was one of the army of "standees,"
+eager, enthusiastic, oblivious to all save the dream world these
+wonderful beings unfolded before me.
+
+There was one upon whom I lavished all the ardor of my youthful,
+heroine-worshiping years--our own lovely Nordica, who became my ideal
+for beauty, accomplishment, and perseverance. Later I was to owe to her
+friendship and that of her husband, Zoltan Döme, the valuable and timely
+advice that diverted my path from a provincial theater in Italy to the
+magnificent Royal Opera in Berlin, and subsequent friendships that have
+proved so potent as well as so spectacular a feature in my career.
+
+Among the plays which I saw that winter were "The Devil's Disciple,"
+with Richard Mansfield in the star rôle; Julia Marlowe in "The Countess
+Valeska," and Ada Rehan in "The Country Girl" and as Lady Teazle in "The
+School for Scandal" (how I did love her as Lady Teazle!)--all wonderful
+plays for a schoolgirl still in her teens.
+
+It was at this time also that I first met Melba, who was in New York,
+and it was Miss Thursby who took me to sing for her. Much of my former
+nervousness had worn away. I had worked hard and was anxious for Melba's
+approval, and her impartial judgment as to the advisability of immediate
+study abroad. That day, too, the sun was radiant, I was in excellent
+humor, and, all in all, everything pointed toward a happy and favorable
+meeting.
+
+I remember Melba's enthusiasm and generosity with gratitude, though I
+have not seen her these many years to tell her so. I sang unusually
+well, to my own accompaniment, and she was so genuinely interested as to
+propose that I should at once sing for her manager, C. A. Ellis, of
+Boston, of whose opera company, in association with Walter Damrosch, she
+was the scintillating luminary. So a few days later my mother and I
+joined her there at a hotel which was the temporary home of the
+songbirds.
+
+Perhaps you can picture my delight. I floated in fairyland; to lunch and
+dine in the intoxicating proximity of these wonderful people; to watch
+them, like gods and goddesses, deign to descend to the earth of
+ordinary mortals--it was like living in a dream.
+
+[Illustration: MISS FARRAR AND HER MOTHER]
+
+The eventful day came when I finally sang for Mr. Ellis. It was in the
+Boston Theater, and Melba, Mr. Damrosch, and many others were present. I
+was a little anxious at the idea of singing in such a large, empty
+auditorium, and feared that my voice would not be heard to advantage in
+such an enormous place; yet, after the ordeal was over, Madame Melba
+took me in her arms and embraced me with enthusiasm and affection. She
+predicted such splendid things as even I scarcely dared hope. I was
+elated and grateful indeed at the general commendation, for Mr. Ellis
+offered me an engagement, and that night, at the hotel, Melba wished me
+to sign a contract of several years to place myself under her tutelage
+and appear later in opera subject to her advice.
+
+My dreams were fast becoming realities. But, as usual, my mother's good
+sense dominated the situation. While thoroughly appreciative of the
+advantages that Melba could offer me in her generous impulse, my mother
+felt that I was far too young to restrict my actions and bind my future
+career in any manner. Besides, with all the excitement of the winter, my
+intense emotional nature and the interest I had aroused in musical
+circles, she wisely thought it best for me to be withdrawn for a time
+from this all-too-stimulating atmosphere, which might later prove
+unwholesome and detrimental to serious study. In consequence, I was
+placed in the household and under the guidance of a dear friend, Mrs.
+Perkins, in Washington, District of Columbia, to continue other studies
+in addition to my singing, while I was impatiently waiting to "grow up."
+
+In the spring of 1898, when the war spirit spread over the country like
+wildfire, my mother and I were taken to the White House one pleasant
+afternoon to call upon Mrs. McKinley. The President's wife received us
+in the Blue Room, while Mr. McKinley was occupied in his private office
+with engrossing business connected with the war. Suddenly the official
+news came of Dewey's great victory at Manila. The President, with the
+official dispatches in his hand, entered the room where his devoted wife
+was surrounded by a sympathetic group of friends. In turn we were each
+presented to Mr. McKinley, and then, thrilled by the announcement of the
+victory, Mrs. McKinley asked me to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner."
+
+There was a piano in the room, for Mrs. McKinley was intensely devoted
+to music. I played my own accompaniment, and, stirred by the glorious
+news and inspired by the presence of the President and his wife and the
+compliment of being asked to sing the national anthem in the White
+House, I sang with all the ardor and intensity of which my nature was
+capable. I have sung "The Star-Spangled Banner" many times since, but
+only once under such inspiring circumstances, when, at that dramatic
+moment after the tragedy of the Lusitania, I called upon the crowded
+house at the Metropolitan Opera (a benefit performance of "Carmen") to
+join me in our national hymn. Garbed in Columbia's robes, with two Red
+Cross nurses at my side, the tableau awoke thunderous applause and the
+great house joined in the singing with a will!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+I REFUSE TO SING AT THE METROPOLITAN
+
+
+Through Miss Thursby I met Dr. Holbrook Curtis, the eminent New York
+throat specialist, and became his patient; his unfailing, kindly
+interest and loyal friendship did much for me. One of the amusing events
+of that early spring of 1898 was a society puppet show which Dr. Curtis
+staged in New York. There were tableaux and songs and recitations, all
+for charity, and then came the puppet show itself, in which I appeared
+as Calvé in a "Carmen" costume.
+
+Imagine a long stretch of painted canvas across the stage, with the
+costumes painted grotesquely beneath openings through which the
+performers' heads appeared. Dr. Curtis himself assumed the rôle of
+Maurice Grau, director of the Metropolitan, and his make-up was
+splendid; various other amateurs impersonated Melba, Jean de Reszke, and
+other stars. The idea of the skit was to show the trouble Mr. Grau had
+in managing his company of stars. There was much amusing dialogue, and I
+remember my complaint, as Calvé, was that I was asked to sing for
+nothing at all-too-many benefits.
+
+[Illustration: DR. HOLBROOK CURTIS]
+
+In Dr. Curtis's office I soon afterward met Mrs. Grau, wife of the
+famous director, and she insisted that I should sing for her husband. It
+was proposed to stage a big special performance of "Mignon" at the
+Metropolitan, with Melba as "Philine," and a star cast, for the benefit
+of the families of the victims of the Maine disaster, and Mrs. Grau
+thought that should I please her husband he might consider the occasion
+a propitious one to introduce me in grand opera, as the rôle of "Mignon"
+was admirably suited to my youth and vocal abilities. I had studied
+"stage deportment" with Victor Capoul, and knew the opera backward and
+forward in both French and Italian.
+
+I own I was greatly tempted, and eager to make so auspicious a
+beginning. Such an offer to a sixteen-year-old girl, I think, would be
+calculated to twist any young woman's head awry. Fortunately, upon
+reflection, good sense intervened and saved me from what might have been
+a very unwise step. Granted that I made a successful appearance, at best
+it could be but the sensation of a few hours; and I had no mind to be a
+singing Cinderella for one night. When my triumph should come, if it
+ever did, it must be the beginning of a well-defined career, and I was
+far too young and ignorant to tread this difficult and dazzling path so
+soon.
+
+Nevertheless, Mrs. Grau made an appointment for me to sing for her
+husband--privately, as I thought. But when I appeared on the stage of
+the Metropolitan, I found him surrounded by a great many people, members
+of the Metropolitan Company, business associates and advisers, and
+others. What my emotions were when I passed in through the stage door I
+cannot describe. Curiously enough, this time the empty house did not
+intimidate, but inspired me. Perhaps I felt the encouraging shadows of
+the great ones hovering about me; at any rate, I sang as I believe I had
+never sung before. To every one's amazement I dismissed the accompanist
+whose laborious efforts were more of a hindrance than an aid to my
+"audition," and, seating myself at the piano, I continued singing to my
+own accompaniment, as was invariably my habit.
+
+Mr. Grau was exceedingly pleased with the promise I showed and
+especially predicted a brilliant future in operatic singing; but he
+seconded my mother's sensibly planned course for me to study more
+quietly, less in public view, and wait till a few years of hard work and
+experience had passed over my ambitious little head. As a kind
+afterthought he added, no doubt to soften the sting of my
+disappointment: "Would you like to sing in one of our Sunday night
+concerts?"
+
+[Illustration: MAURICE GRAU]
+
+"No, thank you, Mr. Grau," I replied. (No tame concert appearances after
+my imagination had been dazzled by a possible début in opera!)
+
+"But it might be valuable to you to have your name on the billboards of
+the Metropolitan Opera House," he urged good-naturedly.
+
+"You will see it there some day," I replied with firm conviction.
+
+He laughed, and certainly had no more reason to take me more seriously
+than dozens of other young "hopefuls" who dreamed of some day storming
+the Metropolitan doors.
+
+Quite without my knowledge or consent, various reports of this and other
+incidents in regard to my singing reached the newspapers, and I
+experienced a distinct shock when I read in the New York "Herald" the
+following amusing yet caustic criticism:--
+
+     If half of what Miss Geraldine Farrar's enthusiastic friends say of
+     her vocal and dramatic talents is true, then this sixteen-year-old
+     girl from Boston is the dramatic soprano for whom we have all been
+     waiting these many years. With all due respect to the young lady,
+     a lot of rubbish has been circulated as to her marvelous, not to
+     say miraculous, vocal gifts and accomplishments, and she cannot do
+     better than include, in the nightly prayers which all good girls
+     say, an earnest invocation to Heaven to preserve her from her
+     friends, that she may be saved from the results of overpraise.
+
+     That Miss Farrar has a wonderful gift of song has been attested by
+     so many discreet judges that it is doubtless true. But when alleged
+     admirers of the young singer tack on all sorts of trimmings, such
+     as that Madame Melba wept with joy upon hearing her, and that
+     Madame Nordica said, "This is the voice of which I have dreamed,"
+     and that Miss Emma Thursby refused to be comforted until Miss
+     Farrar consented to come and live with her, it is about time to
+     add, "and then she woke up."
+
+     Why not confine the stories to simple facts; that she has a
+     remarkable voice, almost phenomenal in one of her age, which is
+     true; that her concert successes have been extraordinary; and that,
+     if youthful evidences hold good, she will some day assume an
+     enviable position in grand opera? Isn't that quite enough praise
+     without subjecting Melba to tears, disturbing Nordica's dreams, or
+     suggesting the impossibility of comforting Miss Thursby? Miss
+     Farrar is a handsome, gifted, and very earnest young girl, and if
+     she has common sense as well as native talent, she will say that
+     little nightly prayer, turn a deaf ear to the adulation of foolish
+     friends, and attend strictly to practicing her scales. Then some
+     day, perhaps very soon, this Boston girl will be electrifying
+     metropolitan audiences as Mlle. Farrarini, the latest operatic
+     comet.
+
+I was almost in tears when I read this article, tempered with kindness
+as it was, for the stories about Melba and Nordica had been the results
+of the feverish imagination of newspaper reporters who had exaggerated
+the truth. But the musical critic of the "Herald," who penned this
+prophetic and caustic comment, really did me a great service--and I
+thank him--for from that moment I determined upon a policy of seclusion
+and self-effacement; my pursuit for glory should be conducted along the
+lines of modesty and restraint.
+
+Alas for the miscarriage of such good intentions! Seclusion and
+self-effacement have hardly been synonymous with my euphonious name!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+PARIS
+
+
+The time was now rapidly approaching which was to be the turning point
+of my career--a trip to Europe. Up to this time I had accomplished
+practically all that I could hope for in America. I had studied under
+the best teachers in Boston and in New York. I knew much of the grand
+opera repertoire. I had sung in concerts and recitals. I had just turned
+seventeen. The necessary training for a grand-opera career was then
+impossible in America, and tradition decreed that foreign singers with a
+foreign reputation should be engaged for grand opera's holy of holies,
+the shining exception being our own American Nordica, then in her prime.
+I decided that Paris must be the next stepping-stone; but how?
+
+To study in Paris meant a great deal of money, and my father's business
+in Melrose, while prosperous enough for our home needs, could not meet
+the strain of an expensive stay abroad. It was an understood thing that
+when I did go, my father and mother should accompany me. The financial
+problem, however, seemed almost an insurmountable one.
+
+[Illustration: MANON]
+
+[Illustration: AMICA]
+
+[Illustration: NEDDA]
+
+[Illustration: ELIZABETH]
+
+[Illustration: MIMI]
+
+But once more the element of luck--or Fate--intervened just at the most
+critical moment. At one of the receptions given by Miss Thursby, at her
+home in Gramercy Park, I had met a Mrs. Kimball, of Boston. She heard me
+sing, and was interested in the story of my ambition to study abroad. I
+told her, however, that although my father was seriously considering
+selling his business in Melrose, we feared the proceeds would be
+insufficient for the course of study that seemed necessary.
+
+"I have a friend in Boston," said Mrs. Kimball, "who is interested in
+music and perhaps she would arrange something if you sang for her. Will
+you come to Boston and meet her?"
+
+Would I? The prospect was too alluring. A very few days afterward I had
+returned to Boston with my mother in response to a letter making an
+appointment for me to meet Mrs. Bertram Webb.
+
+Mrs. Webb was the widow of a former resident of Salem. She was then
+stopping at her beautiful home in Boston, and I sang for her. I was
+fortunate enough to enlist her immediate sympathy and interest, and, as
+I was a minor, the necessary business formalities were concluded by my
+parents in my behalf. My father sold his store in Melrose and realized
+a sum sufficient to reduce materially the amount of the first loan we
+had from Mrs. Webb. This sum, according to the terms of a written
+contract drawn up by Mrs. Webb's lawyer and duly signed by my father and
+mother as my legal guardians, was to be an indefinite amount, advanced
+as required, and to be repaid at an indefinite date when my voice should
+be a source of steady income. The only actual security given was that my
+life was insured in Mrs. Webb's favor, so that in case of my death she
+would be fully compensated for the risk and loss she might sustain.
+
+I am happy and proud to state that, although Mrs. Webb generously
+advanced, all told, a sum approximating thirty thousand dollars during
+the first few years of my studies in Europe, every dollar of it was
+repaid within two years after my return to America.
+
+Upon my mother's capable shoulders fell the difficult and not always
+thankful task of financing and planning for our adventurous expeditions.
+Thus completely shielded from money worries and material vexations, I
+abandoned myself to the glory of dreams. I was ready to slave in
+passionate devotion and enthusiasm to further the career that meant my
+life--to conquer in song. And so unafraid, and happy with the heart of
+youth, I set forth to the Old World of my dreams and hopes!
+
+We sailed from Boston late in September, 1899, on the old Leyland liner
+Armenian. She was a cattle boat; the passengers were merely incidental,
+the beef was vital. It rained the day we sailed, and it rained the day
+we arrived at Liverpool. London, where I spent a brief ten days, remains
+only a vague memory of fog and depression. I was happy to leave it
+behind and continue toward the wonder city of my dreams--Paris.
+
+Who can ever forget the first intoxicating impression of this queen of
+cities? The channel trip, the bustle of arrival at Boulogne, the fussy
+little foreign train tugging us unwillingly over the lovely meadows--all
+I retain of that is a blur. But it seems like yesterday that the spruce
+little conductor poked his merry face into the compartment and gurgled
+joyfully: "Par-ee!" Every nerve in my body tingles now when I recall the
+excitement of it all.
+
+We drove first to a small family hotel which had been recommended by
+some of our fellow passengers on the Armenian. I at once took charge of
+the party, and, in a halting harangue in French, told the landlady what
+rooms we wanted and how much we wished to pay.
+
+"If you will only tell me in English," said the landlady helplessly,
+speaking my native tongue perfectly, "I can understand you better."
+
+After this crushing rebuke to my French, I let my mother arrange all
+details.
+
+We remained but a few days here--only until we could install ourselves
+in an apartment in the Latin Quarter, very near the lovely gardens of
+the Luxembourg and close to the omnibus stations. It cost then three
+sous to ride on top of a bus--"_l'impérial_," as it is called--and six
+sous to ride inside. By constant patronage of _l'impérial_ during
+pleasant weather, it was possible to lay aside enough for a drive Sunday
+in the Bois. In those days there was no taximeter system to disconcert,
+and if one found an amiable _côcher_ (and there have been many, bless
+them!), it was quite within the reach of the modest purse of a
+grand-opera aspirant thus to join the gay throng of smart Parisian
+turnouts.
+
+The first thing of importance was to search for a good teacher. While I
+had letters to various well-known instructors I never used them,
+preferring to be judged on my merits. At last one day I called upon
+Trabadello, the Spaniard who had numbered among his pupils Sybil
+Sanderson and Emma Eames. I studied with Trabadello from October, 1899,
+until the spring of 1900; and, to dispose of unauthorized assertions, I
+may add that Trabadello is the only vocal teacher I had in Paris.
+
+[Illustration: PHOTO OF CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS WITH HAND-WRITTEN DEDICATION
+
+À MADEMOISELLE GÉRALDINE FARRAR
+
+SOUVENIR DE L'ANCÊTRE
+
+MONTE-CARLO 1906
+
+C. SAINT-SAËNS]
+
+I also had a course of _mise-en-scène_, or preparation for the stage,
+with an excellent teacher, Madame Martini, an artist of repute and an
+excellent instructor in the traditional sense of the word. For instance,
+Madame would say: "After ten bars, lift the right hand; two more, then
+point it at the villain; walk slowly toward the hero; raise your eyes at
+the twentieth bar toward heaven; and conclude your aria with a sweeping
+gesture of denial, sinking gently to the floor."
+
+Alas, my progress was not brilliant along such lines. I could not study
+grimaces in the mirror; I could not walk hours following a silly chalk
+line, and I refused to repeat one gesture a hundred times at the same
+phrase or bar of music. Discussion and argument were very frequent--also
+tears. Nevertheless, I did learn much from so well-grounded a teacher,
+and often have occasion to think pleasantly of her first lessons with my
+rather difficult nature.
+
+In the spring I heard that Nordica was in Paris with her husband, Mr.
+Zoltan Döme. I was in a fever of anxiety to see her, and have her hear
+me sing since studying abroad. But how could I find her? By chance I
+heard that she drove daily in the Bois; so I persuaded a friend who had
+a very elegant equipage to invite me of an afternoon to drive, so that
+by some happy chance I might speak to Nordica.
+
+Around my neck I wore a talisman which I had worn for many years--a
+little silver locket for which I had paid two dollars in Melrose when I
+was a schoolgirl. At that time my cash allowance for pin money was
+twenty-five cents a week. One day I saw this locket in a jewelry store
+window. I said nothing, but saved enough to buy the simple trinket,
+which I wore as a talisman, with Nordica's picture in it. Naturally,
+therefore, I wore this in the hope that it would bring me luck in my
+search for her, and soon to my joy I saw the famous singer approaching
+in her open carriage, with Mr. Döme. Of course, she did not recognize
+me, but as she drove by I stood up and threw the precious locket into
+her lap to attract her attention.
+
+Mr. Döme picked it up, and to Nordica's amazement she recognized her own
+picture. While her carriage turned around, I waited on the path, and
+soon my idol was actually allowing me to talk with her and renewing
+once more the interest she had shown while I was in New York.
+
+She invited me to come and sing for her in her beautiful home in the
+Bois, and, when we parted, she handed back my precious talisman. "Don't
+throw it away again," she said with a smile.
+
+"But it has brought me such good luck!" I replied happily.
+
+Next day, and many times thereafter, I visited Madame Nordica, and both
+she and Mr. Döme were genuinely interested in my vocal welfare. The
+question of my future was discussed, and, contrary to the idea I had of
+going to Italy and following the usual procedure of enlisting in a
+provincial theater there for experience, Mr. Döme suggested my studying
+with a Russian-Italian, Graziani, in Berlin, whose book upon vocal study
+he had recently received and found unusual and beneficial.
+
+I was not at all keen upon abandoning Italy for Germany, but Madame
+Nordica's advice was paramount, and, armed with some nice letters from
+her to various friends whom she had learned to know during her triumphs
+in Bayreuth, we made plans to break up our Paris home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+GERMANY: THE TURNING-POINT
+
+
+I spent that summer of 1900 uneventfully in Brittany, and in the early
+autumn off we started for Berlin.
+
+This was another turning-point in my career. The German capital was to
+further as dazzling a future as my heart could have dreamed--and with it
+were to come Romance, Fame and Wealth under the shadow of the Prussian
+eagle's wing.
+
+One of my letters from Nordica was to Frau von Rath, the charming wife
+of Herr Adolph von Rath, the leading banker of Berlin. Frau von Rath
+maintained one of the most beautiful homes in the German capital, and
+her social functions were attended by leading dignitaries and officials
+of the Court. It was no small honor, therefore, to have the _entrée_ to
+her receptions and to have her take an interest in the little American
+girl who had come to Berlin to study music.
+
+[Illustration: "I SPENT THE SUMMER IN BRITTANY"]
+
+Graziani proved to be a protégé of Frau von Rath, and through her I met
+this strange and wonderfully gifted man, whose early death cut short
+a brilliant career. He proved a remarkable teacher, and I profited by
+his admirable instruction throughout that first winter in Berlin.
+
+One day, in the spring of 1901, Frau von Rath asked me if I could sing
+in German.
+
+"No, unfortunately only in French and Italian," I replied. "I came to
+Berlin to study, but I never expect to sing in opera here."
+
+"Would you like to sing for the Intendant of the Royal Opera?" she
+asked.
+
+The Intendant of the Royal Opera in Berlin is the personal
+representative of the Kaiser. He has the private ear of the sovereign,
+and is supposed to carry out his wishes in the conduct of the Royal
+Opera. To please him, therefore, would be a very great and unusual
+triumph.
+
+Would I like to sing for him? It is easy to imagine my reply.
+
+I made my preparations accordingly. With the care which I have always
+bestowed upon my costumes, I ordered an elaborate blue crêpe-de-Chine
+evening gown, to be worn with pearls and diamonds. I carefully studied
+anew the waltz song from "Juliet," the aria from "Traviata," and the
+bird song from "Pagliacci." Suddenly, to my consternation, Frau von Rath
+notified me that the audience, which was to be in her ballroom, would
+have to be held in the afternoon instead of the evening, as some
+occasion at the Palace necessitated the presence of the Intendant there
+at night.
+
+I was desolate; but I agreed to sing, first begging Frau von Rath to
+draw the heavy curtains and turn on all the lights, as though for an
+evening function, so that I could wear my evening gown with the pearls
+and the diamonds. I can remember now the suppressed murmurs of "The
+crazy American!" when I appeared, but I obtained the compliment of
+immediate attention and created the effect I wished.
+
+The Intendant of the Royal Opera at that time was Count von Hochberg, a
+charming, courteous gentleman, who was to show me many favors afterward.
+He heard me through, attended by a score of Frau von Rath's friends, and
+then asked me gravely if I had ever sung with an orchestra. I answered
+truthfully: "No."
+
+"Would you like to sing with the orchestra of the Royal Opera?" he
+inquired.
+
+"I should be delighted," was my prompt response.
+
+"Do you sing in German?"
+
+"I never have--yet," I replied.
+
+[Illustration: THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE, BERLIN]
+
+"Could you learn to sing in German in ten days?" he urged.
+
+"I can learn something. What shall it be?"
+
+"Will you study 'Elsa's Dream'?"
+
+"Yes--"
+
+"Then in ten days, at the Royal Opera, I will hear you again." He bowed
+and took his departure.
+
+Feverishly I began to study German, aided by my dear friend and teacher,
+Fräulein Wilcke, to whose guidance these many years I owe as excellent a
+German diction as any foreign or native artist possesses.
+
+When I stepped upon the stage of the great empty Königliches Opernhaus
+and looked down into the Director's seat, whom should I see but Dr. Karl
+Muck, now the Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. That was the
+beginning of a warm friendship which has endured to this day, for Dr.
+Muck was at all times kind and sympathetic during those early days in
+Berlin.
+
+I sang the waltz from "Romeo and Juliet," in French, the bird song from
+"Pagliacci," in Italian, and "Elsa's Dream," in German. I finished in
+absolute silence, as Count von Hochberg was almost alone in the darkened
+auditorium. Soon he came back to me and said:--
+
+"In my office I have a contract with you for three years. Do you care to
+sign it?"
+
+"But I had no idea of singing in Berlin," I protested. "I want to sing
+Italian."
+
+"If I let you sing here in Italian, will you sign it?"
+
+"Here--in Berlin--sing in Italian?" I gasped.
+
+"It will be a novelty," replied Count von Hochberg. "But the people here
+want one. You are very much of a novelty, quite different from the stout
+ladies who waddle about protesting their operatic fate to spectators who
+find it difficult to believe in their cruel lot and youthful innocence.
+In you I have discovered a happy combination of voice, figure,
+personality, and--eyes." He was something of a cavalier, that nice Count
+von Hochberg, as you will see. "To secure you for my patrons I will let
+you sing in Italian."
+
+What could I say? It was the greatest compliment yet paid me. I glanced
+around the Opernhaus, hesitating. Then--I consented. The legal contract
+for three years was signed by my mother and father for me, as I was
+still under age. It was agreed that I was to sing "Faust," "Traviata,"
+and "Pagliacci," three rôles, in Italian, but I was not to be required
+to sing in German until I should perfect myself in the language.
+
+[Illustration: SIGNED PHOTO OF WILHELM II OF GERMANY WITH A CHILD]
+
+Then ensued a spring and summer of great preparations, for my contract
+did not begin until the following autumn. We went to Lake Constance,
+Switzerland, to study with Graziani. I was as thin as a young girl could
+well afford to be, yet I worked to the full limit of my strength, for I
+realized that my wonderful opportunity had at last arrived. I literally
+floated on air that summer.
+
+Then, too, I had planned a surprise that would especially please the
+women: the matter of dress. There lives in Paris an artist to her
+finger-tips in the matter of creating stage frocks, and that wonderful
+woman has made every costume from head to feet that I have ever put on
+in the theater. She had already "combined me" such lovely things as made
+my heart thrill to appear in them!
+
+The night of October 15, 1901, was my début at the Royal Opera, Berlin.
+There was no advance notice, no presswork. The bill bore the usual three
+asterisks in this wise, as I was a "guest" and not a member of the
+company:--
+
+MARGUERITE........... ***
+
+At the bottom of the programme, in small type, the three asterisks were
+repeated, and the line:--
+
+*** MISS GERALDINE FARRAR AUS NEW YORK
+
+In the simplest of dainty blue crêpe-de-Chine frocks, with a lace bonnet
+over blond curls, "Marguerite" Farrar tripped engagingly down to the
+footlights with a shy glance of inquiry to the ardent "Faust" who
+commenced so successful a wooing with "May I give you my arm?"--and
+everybody felt at that moment how regretful "Marguerite" Farrar was,
+that the exigencies of the opera did not permit a courteous acceptance
+of so charming a support to her gateway.
+
+I remember that Dr. Muck conducted divinely; that I was very happy and
+self-possessed, and my mother said I looked like an angel. I had at last
+made my début.
+
+The following morning the criticisms were so splendid that I told my
+mother I would never get any more to equal them--and I did not for a
+long time. Instantly after my success the hammers came out. The idea of
+letting an American girl sing in Italian in the sacred Royal Opera
+House--it was preposterous! Count von Hochberg was mildly censured by
+the press for permitting such proceedings. Nevertheless, the fact
+remained that I had scored a success on my début; the audience had
+received favorably a "Marguerite" who was neither fat nor forty, and the
+newspaper critics had united in giving me a most enthusiastic verdict
+of approval.
+
+[Illustration: "MY THIRD SEASON OPENED IN TRAVIATA"]
+
+Naturally after such a success I expected to be called upon again very
+soon, but many weeks passed and still my name was not included in the
+published casts given out from week to week. Finally I determined to
+find out the reason for this neglect, so I called on Count von Hochberg
+in his private office at the opera.
+
+"Good-evening, Your Excellency," I remarked pleasantly. "I have just
+looked over the billboards and I don't see my name included in next
+week's repertoire."
+
+There was a moment of embarrassment, then I continued:--
+
+"I merely wondered why I don't sing," adding, "Of course, if Berlin
+doesn't want me I should like to know it."
+
+Count von Hochberg murmured something about giving me an answer the next
+day, but I insisted I must know that night.
+
+"Very well, then, Fräulein," replied Count von Hochberg positively.
+"Within ten days you will sing here."
+
+Fate was ever watchful over me, and soon I was notified that "Traviata"
+was to be revived for me.
+
+What fun I had in composing the adorable rôle of Camille. And then, too,
+I was all afire with memories of the great Sarah as Marguerite Gauthier.
+I had _heard_ famous prima donnas in "Traviata," but few, other than the
+emotional Bellincioni, had ever successfully _acted_ the operatic
+heroine. I was allowed to eliminate much of the stilted traditional
+settings, and, with modern scenery and sumptuous dressing, I played this
+rôle so that it immediately became one of my most popular successes. In
+the romantic and handsome Franz Naval I had an inspiring partner. Our
+artistic connection was to endure many years, and we have left behind
+us, I can truthfully say, very beautiful memories in the hearts of our
+loyal German public. I particularly recall our joint successes in
+"Romeo," "Mignon," "Manon," "Faust," "The Black Domino," and such poetic
+operas.
+
+By this time rumors of the "crazy American" had spread over Berlin,
+together with reports that she was young, slender and, some said,
+beautiful. And then there were--eyes! The result was a notable increase
+in attendance of smart young officers and Court society. The Intendant
+arranged matters so that I sang quite frequently during the rest of my
+first season.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+IMPERIAL ENCOURAGEMENT
+
+
+It was not until my second season at the Royal Opera that I saw or met
+the Kaiser. The Court had been in half-mourning during my first season,
+and members of the royal family had not visited the opera house. In
+January, 1903, the middle of my second season, a Hofmarshal from the
+Palace presented himself at our apartment and officially "commanded" my
+presence at the Palace that night. I was notified that I must wear the
+prescribed Court dress, either lavender or black, with gloves and no
+jewelry.
+
+The Hofmarshal, having delivered his message, was about to depart when I
+called him back.
+
+"I am very sorry," I said meekly, "but I never wear black and I never
+wear lavender. Neither color is becoming to me."
+
+"But it is the custom of the Court--" he began.
+
+"It is my custom," I replied firmly, "to wear what I choose when I sing,
+and according to my mood; and I choose to wear white. Furthermore I
+never wear gloves while singing."
+
+The Hofmarshal was greatly disturbed. He was afraid it would be
+impossible for me to be received at the Palace unless I conformed to the
+usual requirements. However, he would see; I would be notified. And
+later that afternoon came the message that "Miss Farrar could wear
+whatever she desired, but she must come." I wore white.
+
+My mother and I drove to the Palace together; we were formally received
+by various flunkies and under-attachés, and finally escorted up the
+magnificent staircase to the reception room just off the White Hall,
+where the Kaiser and the Kaiserin were with the Diplomatic Corps after
+dinner.
+
+At the proper moment I was announced. After I had sung, and had
+responded to an encore, the Kaiser arose from his place and
+congratulated me. He then turned and shook hands with my mother, after
+which we were led to the Kaiserin and formally presented to her. In turn
+we were made acquainted with the various notables present.
+
+[Illustration: MISS FARRAR AT FRAU VON RATH'S]
+
+That meeting was the forerunner of many pleasant social gatherings at
+the Palace, when mother and I were honored guests. His Majesty was
+exceedingly kind to us, and seemed to like to hear me sing. It was on
+the occasion of one of these visits to the Palace that I met the Crown
+Prince for the first time. He had been away at school at Bonn, and
+came in one evening with several of his brothers. I was naturally
+interested in the personality of the heir to the throne, and spoke to
+him at some length. I liked him at once, and found him very gay and
+sympathetic.
+
+One night at the opera he sat in the royal box, and between the acts, so
+I was told, wished to come behind the scenes to speak to me. The rule
+against visitors is rigidly enforced at the Royal Opera, and His
+Highness was so informed. He thereupon returned to the royal box. After
+the performance he again made an effort to call behind the scenes, but
+was not permitted. However, later that same evening, he sent me a
+hastily scribbled message written upon a card showing the Palace
+gardens, reading:
+
+     You played very well to-night.--WILHELM.
+
+I still have the card.
+
+About this time I first met Madame Lilli Lehmann, to whose far-reaching
+influence I attribute much of the success which has come to me. I felt
+the need of the careful instruction of a master. Of course, the idol of
+music-loving Germany was then, as now, Lilli Lehmann. I wrote to her,
+asking if I could sing for her with the idea of becoming her pupil.
+There was no answer. Lilli, with her extensive correspondence and active
+life, was probably too busy to consider such a matter as a new pupil.
+Then my mother wrote. In reply came a very concise and businesslike
+communication. Yes, Lilli had received the letter from me, but, owing to
+my eccentric handwriting, had been unable to decipher it. My mother's
+penmanship was clearer, and so Lilli wrote that she would be willing to
+hear me sing, without promising to accept me as her pupil, however.
+
+An appointment was made for us to call at half-past nine o'clock in the
+morning at her home in Grunewald, half an hour's ride from Berlin, and,
+though the day was cold and wintry, my mother and I were there promptly
+on time.
+
+Beautiful Lilli Lehmann--stately and serene as a queen; with a wonderful
+personality which seemed naturally to dominate every presence in the
+room; past the meridian of life yet with an unbroken record of world
+achievement behind her; greatest living exponent of Mozart, of Brahms,
+of Liszt, of Wagner--what more can I say of her than that I approached
+her with the deference and respect which were her due? I was an eager
+and humble beginner; she of another generation. My desire to secure
+her as my instructor seemed almost presumptuous; yet, after hearing me
+sing, Lilli kindly consented to take me, and I am happy and proud to
+state that I have been her pupil at all times since that first meeting.
+
+[Illustration: "BEAUTIFUL LILLI LEHMANN, STATELY AND SERENE"
+
+SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH:
+
+To my dearest child
+
+Geraldine Farrar
+
+with all my love
+
+Lilli Lehmann.]
+
+Lilli insisted that I should essay one Wagnerian rôle. Under her
+direction I studied Elizabeth in "Tannhäuser," and the night I made my
+first appearance in this rôle in Berlin was a memorable occasion for
+both of us. The entire royal family was present, and Lilli sat in a loge
+with my mother. I should explain that Lilli, who had been a notable
+member of the Royal Opera for many years prior to her American
+successes, had had differences with the direction of the Royal Opera
+during the years of her tremendous popularity in America, and had
+followed her own sweet will by remaining here several seasons without
+receiving the necessary permission from the Intendant to do so.
+
+As a result, upon her return to Germany she had not been summoned to
+resume her rôles at the Royal Opera. This condition of affairs, I
+believe, had existed for some time, Lilli, with the pride and
+independence of a great artist, scorning to make the first advances
+leading to her return.
+
+On the night of my appearance as Elizabeth, after I had scored a really
+great success, the Kaiser summoned me to the royal box to congratulate
+me. He knew that I had studied the rôle under Lilli's direction. He
+therefore summoned Lilli as well, complimented her upon her pupil's
+achievement and then and there requested her to sing as guest artist at
+the Royal Opera, which she did a few weeks later.
+
+It was a great and happy night for me, and I believe for Lilli also.
+
+Dimly connected with this period I remember various young gentlemen
+showing me attentions. There was a baron who mysteriously sent gifts
+concealed in flowers, with very charming poems written about the
+difficult rôles I was playing. It was some time before I found out who
+he was and could return his trinkets, with the request that he cease
+sending presents to me. However, he continued to write me pathetic
+letters for several years afterward. But I was thrilled and enthusiastic
+over my career, and had no serious thoughts for love-making or
+matrimony. I wished to devote all my time and energy to my work.
+
+[Illustration: THE CROWN PRINCE OF GERMANY
+
+SIGNED, 'Tally Ho--!' 1914
+
+WITH THE IMPERIAL SEAL BELOW]
+
+But no artist can hope to escape permanently the evil tongue and
+jealousy of those who envy her the success she has won. Thus it happened
+that the sudden interest in grand opera manifested by the Crown
+Prince was made the baseless pretext of a wild rumor of the romantic
+attachment of the youthful heir for a certain American prima donna
+singing at the Royal Opera. As I happened to be the only prima donna to
+conform to the description, I was the unconscious victim of many
+canards.
+
+The truth of the matter is that the Crown Prince, just out of college,
+fond of music at all times, was enjoying his first season of opera. That
+I happened to be the only young prima donna at the opera house may be
+one reason why he attended every time I sang, and ignored other
+performances. At any rate, it annoyed the other singers greatly, but it
+created no end of interest in my performances and in no way disturbed my
+equanimity. I felt it was all part of the career.
+
+I was young, triumphant, happy in my singing, and making rapid strides
+toward an international reputation, and at the back of my brain was
+written, with determination, the ultimate goal: the Metropolitan Opera
+House at New York. So I pursued my studies with zest and unabated
+enthusiasm.
+
+Soon afterward I realized from vague storm-clouds and distant mutterings
+that trouble was brewing. Certain minor officials of the Royal Opera
+put their heads together with certain singers; rumors that too much
+attention was paid to the American singer by royalty were printed in one
+of the papers; whereupon my father (remember he was once a ball-player
+and is still a great athlete) retaliated by a physical reminder to one
+editor that such slanders are not circulated with impunity about young
+American women. The press caught the romance of the situation, and
+highly colored stories were the result.
+
+The climax of a series of petty annoyances came one night when my mother
+was denied permission to accompany me behind the scenes, as she had been
+doing at every performance for almost two years.
+
+In my anger at these sensational reports, and at the sudden discourtesy
+to my mother at the opera house, I determined to write to the Kaiser a
+personal letter of explanation. This letter was entrusted to my devoted
+friend, Herr von Rath, to be delivered by him personally to the
+Hofmarshal, who would see that it reached the Kaiser.
+
+[Illustration: THE CROWN PRINCESS OF GERMANY
+
+WITH TWO CHILDREN SEATED ON HER LAP
+
+SIGNED, CÉCILE]
+
+Those well-wishers who had been freely predicting that I would soon be
+requested to resign and "go over the border" because of the rumors
+regarding the Crown Prince (one newspaper even asserted that he
+wished to relinquish his right to the succession to the throne in order
+to marry the American singer!) were soon thrown into consternation when
+one of the royal carriages stopped in front of my door, to bring
+official notification from the Kaiser that he had ordered restored to my
+mother the privilege of accompanying me at any time behind the scenes at
+the Royal Opera.
+
+The envious tongues stopped wagging. Official Berlin society took its
+cue. It was understood that I was _not_ to leave Germany.
+
+I determined that since Berlin had been the city first to take me to its
+heart, Berlin should be my parent house. From there I might try to reach
+out for other worlds to conquer, but Berlin should be my base for an
+international career. And so firmly did I adhere to this decision that,
+when my first contract with the Royal Opera expired, I renewed it again
+and again, with special permission from His Majesty for my European and
+subsequent American arrangements.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+ON TOUR: MONTE CARLO AND STOCKHOLM
+
+
+In discussing the plans for my third season at the Berlin Opera, it had
+been decided that I should create Massenet's "Manon." I determined to
+meet Massenet, if possible, in order to get all possible suggestions for
+the rôle. This was accomplished through the Baroness de
+Hegermann-Lindencrone, formerly Lillie Greenough, of Boston, who was the
+wife of the Danish Ambassador to Berlin. I went to Paris, and on May 26,
+1903, I called on the composer at his suburban home near the French
+capital, where I found him in tears. It was the day after the funeral of
+Sybil Sanderson, the American singer who had won such success abroad,
+and Massenet wept at the loss of such a delightful artist and friend,
+who had created so many of his rôles. Several days later, when he was
+more composed, I saw him again. He was kind and sympathetic, and I
+studied with him with enthusiasm. He was most interested in the Berlin
+production, and quite amused at the German translation of the French
+text which Lilli and I had revised.
+
+[Illustration: "I STUDIED WITH HIM WITH ENTHUSIASM"
+
+PHOTO OF MASSENET, signed:
+
+Je pense à l'admirable Géraldine Farrar
+
+à ses triomphes,
+
+"Manon"!..
+
+Massenet]
+
+During this visit to Paris it was arranged that I should sing for
+Gailhard, the Director of the Paris Opera, and at this audience were
+three other notable directors who were destined to figure in my career.
+There was Maurice Grau, already relinquishing the reins of management in
+New York, but still hoping, he said, to take me back to America as an
+operatic star in the near future; there was Heinrich Conried, his
+successor, whom I then met for the first time; and there was Raoul
+Gunsberg, the Director of the Opera at Monte Carlo. Gailhard offered me
+a flattering engagement at the Paris Opera, but I explained that I was
+under contract for at least one more year in Berlin. Gunsberg was very
+enthusiastic in his praise; Conried was quiet and formal. If I made any
+impression on him, he gave no indication of it.
+
+My third season in Berlin opened November 14, 1905, in "Traviata," when
+I had my usual charming partner in Franz Naval. I now sang all of my
+rôles in German save "Traviata," and, in deference to me, all the
+company sang "Traviata" in Italian, which I thought a pretty compliment.
+
+The Berlin _première_ of "Manon" took place on December 1, 1903, and was
+a wild riot of enthusiasm, but my best reward was a large photo of
+Lilli with half a yard of dedication written underneath. By this
+time--the middle of my third season in Berlin--I had become quite well
+known in certain operatic circles; I had sung in Paris for four big
+directors; I had won the real affection and regard of the opera-goers of
+Berlin; I was now _Die Farrar aus Berlin_, and the Berlin public owned
+me.
+
+Herr Gunsberg, at Monte Carlo, always on the lookout for novelty,
+decided he must have the American prima donna who was attracting so much
+attention in Berlin. One morning in midwinter I received this
+characteristic telegram from him:--
+
+     Offer you début Bohème or Pagliacci. If you accept this telegram
+     serves as contract. Four thousand francs a night.
+
+Eight hundred dollars a night! It was indeed a fine offer. I replied at
+once:--
+
+     Bohème. When shall I come?
+
+I had visions already of international triumphs. Monte Carlo, the
+show-place of the world! From there it was only a step to the leading
+capitals of Europe. Yet I had no wish to leave my beloved Berlin
+permanently. Therefore, in renewing my contract with the Intendant of
+the Berlin Opera (a contract, by the way, which is still in force), it
+was stipulated that I was to sing so many performances each season in
+Berlin unless excused by special arrangement; that I should have leave
+of absence whenever requested under certain conditions; but that at all
+times I should be subject to the rules and regulations of the Royal
+Opera in Berlin.
+
+[Illustration: SIGNED PHOTO OF GUGLIELMO MARCONI
+
+Alla Signorina Geraldina Farrar
+
+Con devota amicizia e sincera ammirazione
+
+Guglielmo Marconi
+
+6 maggio 1912]
+
+I remember discussing the subject with His Majesty on one occasion when
+we were entertained at the Palace prior to my departure. I had asked
+(and received) permission for rather an unusual amount of leave of
+absence, and the Intendant, who usually conveyed such a request to His
+Majesty on my behalf, said this time he really did not have the courage
+to ask again so soon.
+
+"Very well," said I laughingly, "I will ask him myself, to spare you the
+embarrassment."
+
+"But why should you wish to leave Berlin?" inquired the Kaiser. "We are
+glad to have you with us; we admire you; we love you. What more can you
+gain elsewhere?"
+
+"Pardon me, Your Majesty," I replied gayly. "Already I have become
+accustomed as a spoiled prima donna of luxurious habits to ride in
+automobiles, and I don't wish to have to walk when I am an old lady and
+when this" (touching my throat significantly) "has ceased to interest
+the public. In the words of the great Napoleon, Your Majesty, 'Beyond
+the Alps lies Italy.' Yes, and there is a white château by the sea where
+the golden shower is just waiting to be coaxed into my pockets. May I
+not then go and sing a little among the palms and the flowers?"
+
+I went.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Ah, that first rehearsal of "Bohème" in Monte Carlo, in March, 1904! I
+was introduced for the first time to a tenor of whom I had never heard
+before. He was somewhat stout, not over-tall, but with a wonderful voice
+and a winning smile. His name was Enrico Caruso. It was his début in
+Monte Carlo. He had sung in Milan, in South America, and the preceding
+winter in New York. But he had not then attained even a small part of
+his present great fame.
+
+At this first rehearsal in Monte Carlo an interested listener was Jean
+de Reszke, who was kind enough to say that he remembered me as the
+little Boston girl who had sung for him some years previously, and that
+he was delighted to see that I was meeting with the success he had
+predicted.
+
+[Illustration: ENRICO CARUSO]
+
+My Monte Carlo début occurred on the night of March 10, 1904. Although I
+had rehearsed with Caruso, the tenor had never used his voice fully
+at the rehearsals, and on the night of the actual performance, when I
+heard those rich and glorious tones rise above the orchestra, I was
+literally stricken dumb with amazement and admiration. I forgot that I,
+too, was making a début, that I was on the stage of the Opera House,
+until the conductor, Vigna, rapped sharply with his baton to bring me
+back to my senses. Then I put forth every ounce of strength to match if
+possible that marvelous voice singing opposite to me. I copy the
+following extract _verbatim_ from my diary of that night:--
+
+     Tremendous reception on my début. After the third act, and in full
+     view of the audience, Caruso lifted me bodily and carried me to my
+     dressing-room in the general wave of enthusiasm.
+
+The Monte Carlo engagement was limited, and on March 28, I reappeared in
+Berlin, being received so cordially that I then and there made up my
+mind that I would never leave Berlin for good. The reports of the Monte
+Carlo engagement led directly to a most flattering offer from Stockholm,
+and on May 6 I arrived in the Swedish capital. My mother, of course, was
+with me on all my travels.
+
+My début, which took place on the evening of May 9, was as Marguerite
+in "Faust." It was an enthusiastic, sympathetic audience headed by the
+venerable and adorable King Oscar. An incident of the performance worth
+recording is that I sang opposite to Herr Ödman, the tenor, who had sung
+as a young man with Jenny Lind and Christine Nilsson. He was then almost
+sixty years old, but he gave a most interesting performance and was
+extremely vain of his figure in "Romeo" and "Faust." I must say he would
+put many a younger man to shame in the costume of this romantic period,
+withal being a sweet singer and excellent artist.
+
+Two days after my début the Royal Intendant of the Opera called to
+notify me that the King would be glad to receive me at a special
+audience. The royal carriage was sent to the hotel for us; my mother and
+I drove first to the Palace in Stockholm, and then, after we had been
+cordially received by His Majesty, the King invited us to go with him
+and inspect a beautiful suburban castle just outside of Stockholm, which
+is one of the show-places of the world. His Majesty had known and
+admired Lilli Lehmann, and one reason for the personal interest he took
+in me was because he knew I was Lilli's pupil.
+
+[Illustration: "THE VENERABLE AND ADORABLE KING OSCAR"
+
+PHOTO SIGNED, OSCAR.]
+
+On the last night of the Stockholm season I sang "Traviata" before a
+packed and enthusiastic house. His Majesty was present as usual. He
+never missed a performance while I sang in Stockholm. During the
+performance the Intendant notified me that His Majesty desired to
+receive me at the Palace after the performance at a special audience.
+Wondering and surprised, my mother and I drove to the Palace in
+obedience to the royal command. We were ushered into a small audience
+chamber, where perhaps two dozen members of the Court were already in
+waiting.
+
+Presently His Majesty entered and, with a few words, decorated me with
+the gold cross of the Order of Merit, which he personally pinned upon my
+gown. He explained at the time that only two other singers had
+previously received this honor--Melba and Nilsson.
+
+After that there was a real Swedish celebration of farewell which lasted
+until long past midnight--only, as the nights were almost as bright as
+day in that far northern country, it was difficult to tell the time. I
+remember that after supper I suddenly recalled that Caruso had written,
+asking me to secure him a complete set of Swedish stamps, as he was a
+postage-stamp fiend. When I told His Majesty of this, the King sent out
+and secured a complete set of stamps, which I forwarded to Enrico with
+the compliments of the King of Sweden.
+
+As I was leaving and saying farewell, for we were to go on the morrow,
+His Majesty said: "Next year, Mademoiselle Farrar, you must sing again
+in Stockholm."
+
+"I shall be delighted, Your Majesty," I replied.
+
+"Meanwhile, you sing only in Berlin?"
+
+"Oh, no," I answered, "I have been offered a reëngagement for Monte
+Carlo next March."
+
+"Monte Carlo, eh?" And His Majesty laughed. "My dear Mademoiselle
+Farrar, my physician has been urging me to visit Monte Carlo. I shall
+time my trip so that I shall be sure to hear you sing there."
+
+What a perfect darling old King Oscar was!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+MY FOURTH SEASON
+
+
+The month of June found me in Paris, where I sang at a charity concert,
+and in August I went to Bayreuth for the first time and was greatly
+moved by "Parsifal." On August 12 my diary says: "To-day I placed a
+laurel wreath on the grave of Liszt."
+
+In October, 1904, before the opening of the regular season in Berlin, I
+went to fulfill a special engagement in Warsaw. An incident
+characteristic of the impetuous Poles occurred on the train, which
+resulted in more than a year's annoyance of rather an amusing character.
+
+My mother and I were traveling in a private compartment, with the door
+open on the main corridor of the train. A tall, handsome, bearded
+gentleman had passed that door no less than a dozen times. Finally he
+passed just at the moment when my mother wished the train porter to
+change German gold into Russian money. The porter did not have the
+change. Here was the chance of the bearded man's lifetime. He projected
+himself into the compartment, he made the change, he introduced himself
+gracefully, and calmly announced that he knew me all the time as "_Die
+Farrar aus Berlin_," the singer, and he wished to do everything in his
+power to make us comfortable during our stay in Warsaw. He turned out to
+be Count Ischki P----, a very wealthy nobleman with a most romantic
+temperament and also with the persistence of fly-paper.
+
+We could not disengage ourselves from his courtesy on the train, and he
+became doubly irksome when he bombarded my apartments in the Hotel
+Bristol,--the magnificent hostelry, by the way, which Paderewski built
+and owns in Warsaw,--sending me flowers, sweetmeats, candies, and even
+attempting to send me jewelry. The poor Count Ischki wanted me to look
+with favor upon his suit. Never, outside the pages of a novel, have I
+met any one quite so ardent, in so many languages.
+
+The climax came one afternoon when I was reading in my apartment.
+
+There was a knock at the door; it opened instantly, and in came a
+procession of bell-boys--each carrying flowers, enormous boxes of candy
+or tributes of some kind. All these were carefully deposited at my feet
+without a word. Then, as the boys withdrew, the Count Ischki himself,
+faultlessly dressed, entered and threw himself upon his knees before me
+in the midst of his offerings. It was a perfect setting for the stage. I
+had all I could do to keep serious as the Polish count poured out the
+story of his mad love, and declared that, unless I would marry him, he
+would quickly die the death of a madman.
+
+Gently I motioned for him to arise and depart. "I fear I am only a cold,
+heartless, American girl," I replied. "I love only my art, and I shall
+never marry anybody."
+
+The night I left Warsaw the poor Count Ischki was at the station to see
+me off, and, though I felt sorry for him, I was happy at escaping from
+so trying an emotional character. For almost a year, however, he
+followed me over Europe, popping up most unexpectedly at different
+places, always with a renewed declaration of his love. His attentions at
+Monte Carlo finally became so embarrassing that I threatened to appeal
+to the police. Then he ultimately accepted his _congé_, and I was
+relieved of this all-too-ardent nobleman.
+
+The season of 1904-05 in Berlin (my fourth season) was made notable by
+the first appearance there of Caruso, who made his début in "Rigoletto."
+His coming created a great sensation. I was delighted to sing opposite
+him again, but there was a complication of which the public knew
+nothing. With the "king of tenors" singing on the stage with me, I knew
+there was another--Franz Naval--who had sung opposite me for three
+seasons, sitting in a box in the background. However, I compromised with
+the two by usually having tea with Franz and dinner with Enrico during
+his stay in Berlin, and the artistic world rolled smoothly on.
+
+Many interesting things happened during my fourth season in Berlin. For
+one thing the marriage of the Crown Prince to the Grand Duchess Cécile
+took place, thereby permanently putting an end to the little annoyances
+to which his kindly admiration of me as an artist had subjected me. I am
+proud and happy to state that soon after the return of the royal couple
+to the Palace at Potsdam, I was invited to sing for the Crown Princess
+and, as a result of this meeting, a cordial and friendly intimacy sprang
+up between us, which often led to informal musicales at the Palace when
+the Crown Princess played the piano, the Crown Prince the violin, and I
+sang.
+
+[Illustration: "THE AMUSING MADAME SANS GÊNE"]
+
+The spring of 1905 found me once more in Monte Carlo, where a notable
+performance was the _première_ of Saint-Saëns' "L'Ancêtre," in which I
+created the rôle of Margarita. During this spring engagement I
+created another rôle, the title part in Mascagni's "Amica." Preparations
+for the opera had been well under way for some time, Calvé having been
+engaged for Amica. Five days before the _première_ she withdrew for
+reasons which were never explained to me. Gunsberg appealed to me as a
+favor to help him out, if possible, and create this very difficult rôle.
+I agreed, and, by working day and night, I succeeded in preparing it in
+time for the performance. At this special performance Gatti-Casazza, who
+was then Director of La Scala at Milan, heard me sing for the first
+time, but all he recalls, he says, were a pair of eyes and a very
+tempestuous young person.
+
+One night during this spring season in Monte Carlo I caught sight of a
+familiar face in the recesses of a stage box and, for the curtain call,
+I made the royal salute to this box. After the curtain fell, every one
+started to make fun of me.
+
+"We have no royalty in Monte Carlo," one said.
+
+"Pardon me," I replied, "but I shall always give the royal salute when
+King Oscar of Sweden is in the audience."
+
+It was, indeed, His Majesty, who had timed his visit to Monte Carlo so
+that he could hear me sing, as he said he would. The next morning I
+read in the newspapers that the King of Sweden, traveling incognito as
+Count Haga, was visiting Monte Carlo as the guest of the Prince of
+Monaco.
+
+In Monte Carlo even royalty mingles with the crowd, and so it happened
+that later in the day I encountered His Majesty strolling along in a
+smart gray suit, with an Alpine hat and stick, looking for all the world
+like some prosperous American banker seeing Europe on a vacation. His
+Majesty was kind enough to entertain both my mother and me at dinner
+several times during this engagement in Monte Carlo.
+
+The fact that I created the title rôle in "Amica" in five days was duly
+telegraphed to Paris and other cities, and led directly to a most
+spectacular engagement in the French capital, which must be recorded as
+my Parisian début. A certain Count Camondo, a wealthy patron of the arts
+who made Paris his home, had written the music to an operatic libretto
+by Victor Capoul, entitled "The Clown." Count Camondo came to Monte
+Carlo, engaged the entire Monte Carlo Opera Company--including me, as I
+had special leave of absence from the Kaiser for the occasion--at an
+exorbitant figure to sing three performances of the new opera in
+Paris, all proceeds to go to charity. Count Camondo paid all
+expenses, staged the opera lavishly, and we sang the three performances
+to crowded houses, at the Théâtre Réjane, Paris. At last I had sung in
+grand opera in Paris, even if only for charity!
+
+[Illustration: LA TOSCA]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+LEAVING BERLIN
+
+
+After a short season in Stockholm, where once more I had the pleasure of
+singing before dear old King Oscar, I found myself in Berlin. One
+morning my maid brought me this telephone message:--
+
+     Heinrich Conried of New York is at the Hotel Bristol. Will Miss
+     Farrar please come down and sing for him?
+
+I promptly had the maid telephone carefully as follows:--
+
+     Miss Farrar is at her home, and, if Herr Conried wishes to call,
+     she will be glad to see him.
+
+Later that same day Herr Conried called. He was scouting Europe for
+artists for the Metropolitan, and he had been advised by Maurice Grau to
+keep a watchful eye upon my career.
+
+[Illustration: WOLF-FERRARI
+
+SIGNED photo: Alla stupenda "Rosaura"
+
+Geraldine Farrar
+
+con animo grato
+
+Wolf-Ferrari
+
+1912
+
+Venezia.]
+
+We talked of his plans for New York, and Herr Conried expressed a wish
+to have me return to my native land. Of course, from the day I had first
+dreamed of singing in grand opera, the Metropolitan had been my ultimate
+goal, but now that the moment for considering so important a step had
+come I was very wary. Knowing that New York was loyal to some of the
+older artists still under contract, I wanted to protect my interests as
+best I could while working up my career in America. I do not believe
+that Mr. Conried was then very anxious to have me come; certainly he was
+much taken aback when I stated my ideas of the contract. They were so
+entirely at divergence with his that the interview came to nothing, and
+he departed. I was neither glad nor sorry. I telegraphed Maurice Grau
+the result, to which he laconically replied:--
+
+     Don't worry, he'll be back.
+
+Having been many years in that same position, _vis-à-vis_ prima donnas,
+Maurice Grau well knew whereof he spoke, for indeed Mr. Conried did
+"come back," finding me on my vacation in Franzensbad, where I had been
+very busily concerned looking up all manner of contracts for America.
+After much obstinacy on my part and reiteration on his, we managed to
+close the contract. Besides my guaranteed operatic performances I was to
+sing in no private houses unless agreeable to me and only for special
+compensation; and I incorporated every possible clause imaginable about
+dressing-rooms, drawing-rooms on trains, carriages, railroad fares for
+my mother and my maids on tour, and in fact every conceivable concession
+which the most arrogant prima donna might demand. Not that I really
+cared about such items of expense, but I was determined to enter the
+Metropolitan _en dignité_, and I did.
+
+The contract was not to take effect until a year later, in November,
+1906. Meanwhile, I was to conclude another season in Berlin, fulfill all
+European contracts in the spring, and then secure leave of absence from
+the Kaiser for three years. It was arranged, however, that I should
+always be subject to the demands of the Royal Opera, and one of the
+clauses of the Conried contract was that, if at any time I was called
+back to appear in Berlin, my contract would be indefinitely postponed
+until such time as I could fulfill it without conflicting with my Berlin
+contract.
+
+[Illustration: LEAVING BERLIN]
+
+That concluding season in Berlin was a constant series of farewells. The
+news had been made public that I was to sing in America, and that I
+would be absent for at least a year. One of the pleasant memories of
+that season is a farewell concert at the Marmor Palace at Potsdam for
+the Crown Prince and Princess, when they presented to me a diamond
+pendant made up of the letters "W-C" interwoven--Wilhelm and Cécile. The
+Crown Princess Cécile, gracious, charming, young, adored in Berlin and
+throughout Germany, was greatly interested in charities, and during my
+last season in Berlin I assisted her in organizing the programmes for
+many charity concerts.
+
+At last came the eventful day when I was to leave the country of my
+adoption for the land of my nativity. I had announced an "Abschied," or
+"Farewell Concert," in Philharmonic Hall, Berlin, the first week in
+October, 1906. We charged five dollars a seat, and could have sold the
+house twice over. One half the gross receipts went to a hospital kitchen
+founded by my dear Frau von Rath, who had been so kind to me; and the
+other half went to the fund of the Crown Princess's pet charity for
+crippled children. It was a wonderful and representative audience, in
+which royalty was conspicuously present.
+
+Next day we drove through crowds in the streets of Berlin, _en route_ to
+the station for Bremerhaven, from which we sailed on the Kaiser Wilhelm
+II, my mother, father, and I. Quite a contrast to our last voyage
+together on the cattle ship from Boston! But now we were homeward bound.
+I was returning to the land of my birth after an absence of nearly
+seven years, to sing in the greatest temple of music in the western
+world. It represented the near approach of the greatest of my dreams.
+
+But, could I have foreseen all the difficulties that were to come to me,
+I wonder if I would have been so buoyant and care-free as the great ship
+pounded her way westward through the October seas!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+MY FIRST APPEARANCE IN NEW YORK
+
+
+The air was crisp and cold that brilliant November morning when the
+Kaiser Wilhelm II nosed her way into New York Harbor. How proud and
+alert I felt as I looked up at the mass of towering buildings, their
+pinnacles sharply tilted against the dazzling blue of the sky. The
+harbor swarmed with seagoing craft; all was excitement and interest,
+particularly so when the revenue cutter and the mail boat were shortly
+made fast alongside the big liner. The kindly purser was soon pouring
+hundreds of letters and telegrams into my eager hands, sweet and
+welcoming messages--happy augury! All the world seemed to smile on me
+that day. Not even the persistent reporters could curb my enthusiasm or
+spoil my high spirits. How we laughed and chatted, Mr. Conried an amused
+spectator at my side.
+
+An avalanche of questions, almost all pointedly personal, were hurled at
+me, everybody talking at once. The rôle of the modest violet was not to
+be mine, I could see from the outset.... Yes, I loved Berlin.... Yes, I
+had sung for the Emperor.... Yes, the Crown Prince and the Crown
+Princess were a charming couple.... Yes, I hoped to duplicate my
+European successes in my own country.... No, I was not engaged.... Nor
+secretly married.... Why?... Well, because I just wasn't. And so
+on--endlessly, it seemed. Pencils scribbled unceasingly and cameras
+clicked at all possible angles. I did not care for that, since I wore a
+most fetching little turban and some beautiful furs (the pictures
+wouldn't be unattractive). I was hardly settled at my hotel when the
+editions of the papers were being sold, and their readers learned from
+the notices, profusely illustrated (the turban really did come out
+well!), that "Geraldine Farrar had arrived."
+
+Dazed and tired by the excitement of arrival and the thousand-and-one
+greetings of welcoming friends, I could think of but one thing, my
+début. It pursued me by day and haunted my sleepless nights. No one can
+imagine what anguish I endured once I was alone, and how difficult it
+was to discuss the event with an airy indifference to outsiders. I told
+myself there was nothing to fear; that my home people would love and
+support me as had my loyal Berliners. If only the trying ordeal were
+over!
+
+[Illustration: PHOTO OF MARK TWAIN, SIGNED
+
+TO MISS FARRAR, WITH THE KINDEST REGARDS OF
+
+MARK TWAIN JAN. 1908]
+
+To my disappointment "Romeo and Juliet" had been chosen, not only for my
+début, but for the opening performance of the season as well. In vain I
+pleaded that, under such a strain I should acquit myself much better in
+Elizabeth ("Tannhäuser"), which I had just sung in Berlin and Munich
+with great success. Mr. Conried was obdurate, however; he said I must be
+presented in a spectacular production, and so I had to give in.
+
+I shall always remember my first rehearsal in the dimly-lighted ladies'
+parlor. The suave and elegant Pol Plançon (the Friar) and my friend,
+Josephine Jacoby, greeted me, and then Rousselière, of Monte Carlo days,
+who was making his début as well, as my "Romeo." We were both
+frightfully nervous and longed for the day to be over.
+
+November 26, 1906, however, did finally arrive. I drove to the opera and
+slipped into my gown--not the usual conventional robe of stiff white
+satin, but a heavenly concoction that my clever wizard of a dressmaker
+had faithfully and beautifully modeled after a Botticelli painting. A
+misty veiling of rose delicately traced with silken flowers and
+sprinkled with tiny diamonds sheathed my figure of fortunate slenderness
+(thanks be!), while a jeweled fillet of gold rested on my own dark hair,
+and a tiny curling feather waved alertly on my forehead. And so "La
+Bella Simonetta" came to life, along the Capulet halls, transported for
+the nonce to the twentieth century and Broadway. A rain of welcoming
+applause greeted me and told me that so far all was well!
+
+I cannot remember distinctly all that occurred that auspicious evening.
+There seemed to be cart-loads of flowers; and again and again I smiled
+out from the great yellow curtains. Mr. Conried congratulated me, and
+the great evening was over!
+
+I was at home.
+
+Now I was to drag out some uninspiring weeks in such operas as "La
+Damnation de Faust," "Faust," and "Juliette," all of no particular
+interest to me.
+
+The real bright spot in the season was the first production of "Madame
+Butterfly" on the 11th of February, 1907. This charming opera was to
+endear me later to all my audiences and firmly establish me in the favor
+of the whole country. However, at the time no such encouraging and
+pleasing vision was vouchsafed me.
+
+[Illustration: "ADORABLE, UNFORGETTABLE BLOSSOM OF JAPAN"]
+
+I slaved with ardor and enthusiasm, studying Oriental characteristics
+and gestures with a clever little Japanese actress, Fu-ji-Ko, and
+incorporating as much as was possible of her counsels in my portrayal
+of the hapless "Cio-cio-San." _Maestros_ came and went, as did Mr.
+Ricordi, the publisher, and Mr. Puccini. Everybody had a hand in the
+pie, till I was nearly out of my mind with all the many advisers. But I
+left nothing undone (that I could imagine!) to make my rôle as perfect
+as possible. Caruso and Scotti had already shared with Destinn the
+success of the London production, so it remained for Louise Homer and
+myself to make the most of that charming second act, which is so
+poignant a scene between the two women.
+
+"Madame Butterfly" was a triumph for us all, and for me in particular.
+There were flowers, laurel wreaths (one with a darling little flag of
+Nippon tucked away in the green leaves), thanks from author, directors,
+and so on, embraces, applause, excitement--all the usual hubbub of a
+successful _première_.
+
+Somehow I got home and sobbed myself to sleep on my mother's shoulder,
+utterly worn out by the nervous strain and cruel fatigue of the previous
+weeks.
+
+Ah! Adorable, unforgettable blossom of Japan! Thanks to your gentle
+ways, that night I placed my foot on the rung of the ladder that leads
+to the firmament of stars! When I don your silken draperies and voice
+your sweet faith in the haunting melodies that envelop you, then are all
+eyes dim and hearts atune to your every appeal for sympathy!
+
+"Butterfly" brought me in touch as well with that past master of
+stagecraft, David Belasco. To my great delight he was enthusiastic over
+my portrayal of this little heroine who was the child of his heart and
+brain in the drama.
+
+I may own that every time we meet and he says, half laughingly, half
+quizzically, "Well, when are you going to forsake opera and come into
+the drama?" I am almost tempted to make an experiment of such interest,
+for the theater has always made a strong appeal to my dramatic
+instincts.
+
+Who knows? Some day may see me a candidate for such honors if I take his
+invitation seriously!
+
+Meanwhile, I was wondering just how my artistic status was going to grow
+under conditions prevailing in our opera house. My repertoire was
+extensive in my contract, but limited on the actual billboards, owing to
+a predominance of prima donnas. Patience, with a big P, did not seem to
+help my ambitions much.
+
+[Illustration: BELASCO, "THAT PAST MASTER OF STAGECRAFT"
+
+SIGNED PHOTO: To Gerladine Farrar
+
+Our American born
+
+song bird in whose art I glory.
+
+Faithfully,
+
+David Belasco.]
+
+Finally the company went on the annual spring tour, and I have a
+confused remembrance of much traveling, new audiences and hard work.
+I loved Chicago from the first, and its enthusiastic support is always
+reliable, whether I visit there in opera or in concert.
+
+During the winter Gailhard had negotiated and secured my services for a
+special spring season, so that after the Metropolitan season I was to
+realize another cherished ambition and appear in the regular repertoire
+of the Paris Opera.
+
+With these plans for the spring, Berlin in the autumn, and New York all
+winter, I was running perilously near the danger line of overwork. My
+physician advised caution, less work and more absolute rest, not to take
+my career so strenuously, as even my exuberant spirits would not
+indefinitely respond to my madly driven energy.
+
+But I could not then call a halt. My star was waxing. I must go on. I
+would pay the penalty later--and I did!
+
+My Paris début was effected under difficulties. The steamer was delayed;
+my trunks went astray; and, to add to my distress, three polite
+gentlemen took the trouble to meet me at Cherbourg, to tell me I had a
+day to arrive in, one day to rehearse, and the third day in which to
+persuade "La Ville Lumière" of my artistic worth. But the occasion was
+like a whip to a race-horse. It never occurred to me to refuse, despite
+my consternation.
+
+Fortunately that shrewd dressmaker of mine, with admirable foresight
+(and second-sight as well, perhaps!) had "completed a whole 'Juliet'
+outfit for immediate use--don't worry," read the telegram. I could have
+hugged her!
+
+I hummed a few scales on the dock, and, with a sigh of relief that all
+was in order (for I had constant nightmares that I should lose my voice
+some day unexpectedly), I clambered into the overcrowded express and
+slumbered peacefully till our early morning arrival. That day I went
+gayly to the rehearsal, and the following evening (not without much
+nervous anguish) was greeted with the greatest enthusiasm by a
+representative audience.
+
+An interested listener was Gounod's son, who afterward paid me such
+delicate and charming compliments as made my ears burn.
+
+I had become a Parisian personage, and I allowed myself to enjoy
+childishly the adulation and pretty attentions that were showered on me.
+My woman's vanity was pleased enough at the lovely chiffons and bonnets
+these ingenious people of the rue de la Paix evolved for my special
+pleasure. What with fashionable soirées at which I was petted and
+spoiled, and the parties and teas where my presence seemed to evoke
+whispers of admiration and envy, I might well have had my youthful head
+turned to a dizzy angle.
+
+[Illustration: PHOTO OF SARAH BERNHARDT
+
+Signed, À la charmante Farrar
+
+souvenir d'une grande amitié
+
+Sarah Bernhardt,
+
+1915]
+
+But I had my New England "thinking-cap" firmly set on my shoulders. A
+little of this charming frivolity was enough, and one fine day I
+disappeared--back to the simple life of study and quiet with the great
+Lehmann; I shed the iridescence of my butterfly wings and became, for
+the nonce, a hard-working grub!
+
+My stay in Paris was memorable to me as well by reason of the meeting
+with Sarah Bernhardt.
+
+My admiration for this wonderful woman had ever been of the most fervent
+heroine worship, and when Madame Grau said: "Sarah wants to know you;
+when will you lunch with her?" I set the following day, for fear she
+might change her mind and I might thereby lose this privilege.
+
+I see her still, standing slim and white in her long curling draperies
+at the entrance to her home, her keen eyes appraising me, her voice
+raised in cordial greeting. How we chattered! What things she had to
+say, and with what joy I listened!
+
+She knew all about "Juliet"--much to my surprise--even to details, such
+as dress, innovations in _mise-en-scène_, and how I tried to infuse the
+modern dramatic spirit into the measures of the opera. Then the
+conversation wandered to personalities; among the most cherished, our
+mutual great-hearted friend Coquelin, now, alas! gone to his last sleep
+these many years; books, and her obstreperous dogs, most conspicuous by
+their noisy presence. I was to enjoy her friendship from that day on. As
+I write, a recent photograph stands before me, bearing a tender
+inscription. A smile plays upon her face, despite her recent tragic
+affliction. She is in truth an element, ageless, fearless, dauntless!
+
+It was good to be back for a short season in the autumn in Berlin,
+previous to my second departure for New York. The demonstration of the
+loyal Berliners at my return was beautiful, despite successes elsewhere.
+I was always to them "_unsere Farrar_."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+MISUNDERSTANDINGS
+
+
+My second Metropolitan season opened pleasantly with a neat little
+success in the comparatively small rôle of Marguerite in "Mefistofele,"
+which was produced for the benefit of Chaliapine, the great Russian
+basso. Unfortunately, owing to his dissatisfaction and disappointment at
+musical matters in general, nothing would induce him to return to
+America, and we thereby lost an artist unique in all he attempted and
+unparalleled in some of his typical Russian creations, such as "Boris"
+and "Ivan the Terrible."
+
+January, 1908, saw me on my native heath in Boston. I sang four
+performances in six days--"Faust," "Madame Butterfly," "Elizabeth,"
+"Pagliacci"--and the reception was a tornado of enthusiasm, to which the
+historic walls of the old Boston Theater resounded. The conservative Hub
+did not deserve such an appellation in the case of my welcome. I was
+filled with pride and gratitude.
+
+My own home town also wanted to share in the festivities; whereupon a
+concert was arranged, and I returned to sing in the brick town hall
+that had first sheltered my early efforts. At the close of the programme
+I shook hands with every man, woman, and child who desired a close
+scrutiny and personal greeting--and you may be sure I was not allowed to
+abandon my place on the stage till all had availed themselves of this
+invitation.
+
+The following morning the Mayor and several prominent townspeople called
+for me, and we visited the pupils of my former schools. They were all
+ready, in line, to greet me, flags in their hands.
+
+When an address was suggested, I arose with alacrity--and introduced my
+friend Kate Douglas Wiggin, as speaker. Despite her surprise she rose
+gracefully to the occasion in a most flattering little speech, to the
+delight of her youthful hearers. I was, indeed, most fortunate to have
+had a Mistress of Ceremonies of such tact and charm.
+
+Meanwhile Mr. Conried's failing health was necessitating a change of
+management at the Metropolitan, and the choice fell upon Mr.
+Gatti-Casazza, of La Scala, Milan, in conjunction with Andreas Dippel,
+the latter a member of our company and very popular with New York
+audiences. With contracts for Berlin, Paris, and New York, the old cry
+of "overwork" was dinned into my ears, but less than ever was the
+moment for immediate rest possible. I was about to make a new contract
+with the Metropolitan under a different management, new artists were
+engaged who might reasonably be supposed to share some of the repertoire
+which I had not yet sung.
+
+[Illustration: "AS PRETTY A FLOCK OF BIRDS AS ONE COULD FIND ON ANY
+FARM"]
+
+It behooved me to keep well within the public eye and to make my
+position as advantageous as I could under the new régime.
+
+Not having acquaintance with Mr. Gatti-Casazza, I preferred signing my
+engagement with Mr. Dippel; but all our arguments came to naught when he
+found I was firm in my proposals to improve upon the old contract, and I
+sailed away in May with no more definite answer than "_Au revoir_ in
+Paris" to him.
+
+While singing there at the Opéra Comique, we again went over the same
+ground--futilely; and it was not till the following July in Berlin that
+I was able to arrange a several years' engagement which, in the light of
+the last years, I may reasonably conclude has been to nobody's
+dissatisfaction.
+
+My third Metropolitan season started unhappily. I arrived ill and
+fagged; lamentable altercations took place between the new conductor,
+Mr. Toscanini, and myself, each having quite opposite ideas as to the
+merits of conductor and prima donna, respectively. The estrangement was
+complete after the opening performance of "Madame Butterfly," when we
+both lost our manners and our tempers in high-handed fashion.
+
+Outside influences fanned resentment to a white heat, at least on my
+part; I was in a fury. The papers gave space to stupid fabrications and
+stories purporting to emanate from those speaking with authority, whose
+names, however, one could never discover.
+
+Ill in mind and health, I was vexed enough to offer to buy my release
+from such bondage as I now lived in artistically. I was far from happy,
+and when I am not happy I cannot sing well. My one idea was to escape
+from all this turbulence and what seemed to me to be a hotbed of
+intrigue. I was a rebel, yes; but I was no dissembler, and I hated to
+come into contact with those in authority under present conditions.
+Every performance was an occasion of dread; things looked very dark for
+my peace of mind.
+
+[Illustration: THE GOOSE GIRL IN "KÖNIGSKINDER"]
+
+Needless to say, I was not granted a release, but must struggle on
+during the closing weeks of the spring. I resigned myself to finish the
+season as best I could, but I was quite decided that when the roll
+call came the following autumn I would spend my winter quietly in
+Berlin. That was all to be changed, however, by the very unexpected and
+friendly overtures which Mr. Toscanini, to my great surprise, made one
+memorable evening of "Madame Butterfly" in Chicago.
+
+When two ardent and honest workers are desirous of eliminating
+misunderstandings it is not difficult to arrive at a solution. The
+various phases of the seething disquiet that had prevailed between us
+were discussed with commendable frankness on both sides. I need not add
+that the result was a happy one, and I thereby gained a firm friend and
+an invaluable ally in my work.
+
+We sealed our differences in a joint curtain call, that same evening,
+before a jammed house that was fully aware of the significance of our
+unusual appearance together, and gave way to tumultuous and approving
+applause.
+
+It would be difficult to estimate justly the influence Mr. Toscanini has
+had in the musical development of our opera, the artistic direction of
+which he rightly controls. Personally I am, as in the case of Lilli
+Lehmann, far more indebted to him than I can properly place in words,
+certainly more than he, with a morbid dislike for any public attention
+to himself, would perhaps allow me to admit.
+
+Lehmann--Bernhardt--Toscanini! These are names to conjure with in the
+career of a young artist!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Events in the operatic aviary were now destined to proceed more or less
+smoothly for me--for a while at least. In the spring of 1909 I was urged
+to give some special performances of "La Tosca" at the Opéra Comique in
+Paris, with Antonio Scotti in his admirable characterization of Scarpia.
+The success of the opera was most gratifying, and was in no wise
+overshadowed by the presence of the Metropolitan Company, which had come
+from the United States to sing in Paris at the same time.
+
+That same spring, before sailing, Toscanini had asked me to sing
+Puccini's "Manon" with the Metropolitan Company during its Paris season.
+But the rôle was unfamiliar to me, and as I had monopolized the more
+popular Massenet's "Manon," I felt I could not undertake its preparation
+in six days of ocean travel, together with my promised performances of
+Tosca at another theater. Toscanini quite understood this, made no
+further insistence, and the charming Lucretia Bori was introduced to
+the Parisian public and later came to delight her New York admirers.
+
+[Illustration: KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN]
+
+What transpired to offend Puccini I never knew, but the trivial question
+of my not singing his "Manon" provoked our first argument relative to
+"The Girl of the Golden West." The production of this long-awaited opera
+from the popular composer was the one topic of discussion and
+speculation in musical circles, its _première_ being scheduled for the
+following autumn in New York.
+
+While I had never had the promise of the rôle, the very subject and its
+appeal to the American public would seem to have indicated the choice of
+a native prima donna. Not only I, but a large majority of an interested
+public expected it. However, Puccini himself dispelled any such illusion
+by opening an argument, while I was singing in a drawing-room, to the
+effect that I had refused to sing his "Manon" because I had not been
+asked to create "The Girl." This was really a little too much, and I
+retorted that such was not the case, but that it might be well for him
+to consider the eventual popularity of his work with an American singer
+as the heroine, and that I was not aware he had changed his usual suave
+style of composition to such an extent that the most popular "Madame
+Butterfly" could not cope with its difficulties. With this I sailed out
+of the room.
+
+Possibly the crowded aspect of the house at some performances at which I
+sang the following autumn, and which he attended, modified his opinion,
+for he was effusive in compliments and photographs, and the slight cloud
+blew over without further parley.
+
+Afterward I was to be consoled by as gratifying a success as my heart
+could wish as the "Goose Girl." December 28, 1910, saw the _première_ of
+the charming "Königskinder," which enchanted the audience by reason of
+its lovely simplicity and the introduction of live geese--no less!
+
+[Illustration: MISS FARRAR AND CARUSO IN "JULIAN"]
+
+Professor Humperdinck was not a little taken aback when I first
+mentioned that I intended having these live geese which were, according
+to my plan, to move naturally and unconfined about the stage. Mr. Hertz,
+the conductor, was much perturbed and objected to the noise and
+confusion they might create; but Mr. Gatti was resigned to my whim and
+gave assent. So with the help of our technical director and the "boys"
+behind the stage I had as pretty a flock of birds as one could find on
+any farm. When the curtain rose upon that idyllic forest scene, with the
+goose girl in the grass, the geese unconcernedly picking their way
+about, now and again spreading snowy wings, unafraid, the house was
+simply delighted and applauded long and vigorously. Not to be overlooked
+was the sympathetic appeal of the children's beloved Fiddler, in the
+person of Goritz. This operatic fairy-tale held an enviable place in the
+regular repertoire for three years, and was one of my happiest
+successes.
+
+Following this I was to create a work of a type quite different from any
+other I had ever essayed. Had it not been for Toscanini's urging I
+should hardly have chosen "Ariane et Barbe Bleue" as a medium for my
+ambitions. While the production was highly interesting, I cannot say
+that I am much in sympathy with the vague outlines of the modern French
+lyric heroines; "Mélisande" and "Ariane" I think can be better entrusted
+to artists of a less positive type.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE DAYS I NOW ENJOY
+
+
+The season of 1913-14 came very near proving disastrous for me. After
+repeated danger signals, at last overtaxed Nature took her revenge. I
+was unable to cope successfully with a bad attack of bronchitis, which
+made me lose the opening night. Some days afterward, still ill, I was
+obstinate enough to insist on a "Madame Butterfly" performance, and I
+collapsed completely in a "Faust" performance later that same week.
+
+I shall never forget my state of mind. Despair overcame me. The awful
+nightmare had come to pass. I should probably never sing again! Then
+there flashed through my mind: How should I endure this enforced
+inactivity? Daily, hourly, I waited, and watched, and coaxed a
+betterment of my physical condition, which, after all, was at the bottom
+of my minor vocal troubles. Outside, a generous and affectionate public
+had not forgotten me, while Mr. Gatti was most kind and patient with
+this fretful songbird.
+
+[Illustration: "CARMEN"]
+
+One day I judged myself at last ready to venture a performance. Upon my
+appearance I was greeted with such welcoming applause as threatened to
+interfere with my continuance of the opera. My heart was full of
+gratitude as I bowed and bowed my thanks. By dint of care and caution I
+was able to finish the season with credit, even taking the fatiguing
+trip to Atlanta, Georgia, prior to sailing, in order not to disappoint
+that loyal and enthusiastic public. That year, too, was the American
+_première_ of the long-awaited sequel to "Louise"--"Julian," a
+hodge-podge of operatic efforts that brought little satisfaction to
+anybody concerned in it. To my surprise the repellent characterization
+of the gutter-girl in its last act moved some critical craniums to
+speculate favorably on the ultimate success of "Carmen," should I ever
+attempt this rôle.
+
+My summer was a long one of quiet and absolute rest. When I was ready to
+sail home Europe was beginning to seethe in her terrible conflict. I
+raced from Munich to Amsterdam to get an available neutral steamer; but
+the prevailing confusion and panic occasioned by the fall of Antwerp and
+mine disasters in the northern waters made it advisable for me to follow
+Mr. Gatti's insistent message to join him and the company immediately at
+Naples.
+
+Ah, that journey to the end of Italy! Shall I ever forget it?
+Fortunately, Mr. Gatti had been able to assemble all his songsters--with
+the exception of Gilly, our French barytone, a prisoner of war in
+Austria--and we were to enjoy an agreeable and uneventful ocean trip
+home.
+
+It was while on shipboard, discussing the repertoire, that Toscanini
+suggested the immediate preparation of "Carmen" for my first appearance
+of the season. I jumped at the idea, the more so since I should have a
+rôle I had always longed to sing and which favored me as I had rarely
+been favored. Here was indeed an occasion to refute many an unkind rumor
+that I had lost my voice and would never sing again. And as for the
+acting, and looking--well, I smiled into the miserable little glass in
+my stateroom that did duty as a mirror, and blew myself a kiss of
+congratulation! Daily rehearsals were called, and I worked like a slave
+in the little stuffy dining-room of the ship to the accompaniment of a
+piano no better than it should be.
+
+Many a gypsy had come and gone, leaving New York mildly indifferent.
+There had been but one fascinating, unforgettable creature within our
+memory, the incomparable Calvé! Not one leaf of her coronet of laurel
+had so much as quivered!
+
+[Illustration: WORK AND PLAY IN CALIFORNIA]
+
+The eventful evening came at last, and I need not dwell upon the
+wonderful success that attended the brilliant revival of this well-loved
+opera under Toscanini's splendid direction.
+
+Later in the same season was to come the amusing "Madame Sans Gêne,"
+chiefly interesting for its novelty and touches of comedy.
+
+Added to the fortunate operatic successes, I had made several concert
+_tournées_, my contract with the record-makers had been rigidly kept,
+and to succeed in all these artistic directions, the well-being of the
+voice had ever primarily to be considered.
+
+When the fateful time came that I paid the toll of overwork and my
+throat was temporarily crippled, my mind was doubly alive and in acute
+anguish. Inactivity to me has always been something not to be borne. I
+must have a vital interest with which to stimulate my energies and
+fancies.
+
+It was during those discouraging days that I bethought me of the very
+ardent advances that had been made to me relative to the moving
+pictures. Perhaps there was another field of expression, not to mention
+the very flattering financial considerations that were to accompany the
+offer, did I allow myself to be persuaded.
+
+No small amount of half-hearted condemnation and significant shoulder
+shrugging accompanied the announcement that I might seriously consider
+such a proposal.
+
+"Oh, Geraldine! How can you?" I heard on every hand.
+
+But why shouldn't I? I have never been the overcautious prima donna,
+swathed in cotton, silent, save for singing, for fear of undue fatigue
+upon the voice--the human vocalizer! No. I like the novel and the
+unusual always, and I _adore_ to act!
+
+My friendship with the family of David Belasco, and his son-in-law, Mr.
+Gest, having large interests in the moving pictures, led me finally to
+accede to their request; and I signed a contract which promised to be
+(and fulfilled happily!) as successful a venture as any I have ever
+undertaken.
+
+My arrival in Los Angeles, the beautifully appointed house there, the
+special studio built for my privacy and convenience are of too recent an
+interest to reiterate here. The experience itself was novel and
+refreshing, with its own unusual dramatic procedure. I sang and
+declaimed my rôle in French or Italian as I chose. There was no curtain
+to go up! The director-general replaced the harassed stage manager and
+gave the signal: "Camera! Go!" No fiery leader overwhelmed me with the
+feverish tempest of his orchestra; just a watchful operator warily
+turning the crank of his machine while I evolved my "scenes" as I
+wished.
+
+[Illustration: MAKING NEW FRIENDS IN THE "MOVIES"]
+
+My "Carmen" has made her screen début, and many of you have doubtless
+seen it. I have been delighted at its success, and feel that its
+artistic excellence and the enthusiastic approbation it has met speak
+loudly enough in favor of my departure from the usual routine of the
+prima donna.
+
+I have been asked, in summing up these experiences of my artistic
+career, so far, if it has all been worth while? From my point of view,
+yes. That is, what you believe to be the most complete fulfillment of
+yourself and the gratification of your ambitions is always worth while.
+Fortunately for me the adventurous and inquiring turn of my mind does
+not allow my ambitions to become narrowed or stationary, and that may
+possibly account for the unusual phases in my musical career.
+
+It is, however, distinctly _not_ worth while, to my mind, unless Fortune
+smiles upon you in abundance, for art is not the medium stratum of life,
+but its flowered inspiration and emotional poetry: it demands and
+obtains its sacrifices and sorrows which modify and chasten its glory,
+and your own soul best knows the toll you pay.
+
+Personally I would not encourage the graduate of the church choir, or
+the youthful miss with the pretty voice and smug mind, to embark upon a
+grand-opera career, such as I have come to understand it. By that, I
+mean the exceptional career that demands the big outlook and risk in all
+one attempts--the sacrifices, the unceasing toil, an iron constitution,
+invulnerable nerves, to say nothing of the financial security involved,
+according to the magnitude of the undertaking. With the many who earn a
+comfortable livelihood by their agreeable song I have no question,
+being, as I said before, solely concerned with the exceptional gift that
+will not be denied, that brushes aside all obstacles, to proceed on the
+path of wide appeal in any branch of art or occupation.
+
+When intelligent people will begin to open their minds and refuse to be
+cajoled by flattery and hypocrisy as to what constitutes "an artistic
+career," it may be better for American art in general and easier for the
+girl who cherishes high ambitions.
+
+How many aimless letters fill the musical columns with admirable advice
+on a profession of which the writers betray their naïve ignorance by the
+general vacuity of their remarks, when presuming to measure an artist's
+impulses and inspirations by their own personal standards and
+emotions! Let the artist develop in his own orbit, according to his
+light, nor criticize the method of the fruition of those gifts he so
+generously flings to his hearers.
+
+[Illustration: MISS FARRAR AND MR. LOU TELLEGEN]
+
+And now, in closing, I have purposely left till the last, my
+affectionate tribute of gratitude and remembrance toward that vital
+factor in these later years of my career, whose esteem constantly spurs
+me on to my best efforts and whose support I trust I may enjoy for many
+years to come: the discerning, generous and appreciative American
+public!
+
+
+     NOTE: Soon after writing the last pages of this book Miss Farrar
+     announced her engagement to Mr. Lou Tellegen, a talented young
+     actor well known to Americans since he first came here five or six
+     years ago as leading man with Madame Sarah Bernhardt. The picture
+     on the preceding page was taken at the City Hall, New York, just
+     after Miss Farrar and Mr. Tellegen had secured their marriage
+     license. They were married at Miss Farrar's home February 8.
+
+
+The Riverside Press
+
+CAMBRIDGE--MASSACHUSETTS
+
+U. S. A
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Geraldine Farrar, by Geraldine Farrar
+
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