erience, he would do well to be guided in this matter by one who,
to the knowledge required, adds taste and discernment. That a liking
or preference is sometimes mistaken for the aptitude and gifts
necessary for the successful carrying out of certain work, is too well
known to be even questioned. It is the constantly recurring case of
the low comedian who wishes to play Hamlet. A young tenor whose great
vocal and physical advantages made him an ideal Duke in _Rigoletto_, a
fascinating Almaviva in _Il Barbiere_, found but little enjoyment in
life because his director refused to allow him to try Otello and
Tannhaeuser, for which he was vocally unfitted. Never show the public
what you cannot do, is the best advice that can be given in such
cases. Even the finest and most experienced singers are occasionally
liable to make mistakes in the choice of roles. Madame Patti once sang
Carmen, and Madame Melba essayed Bruennhilde; but I am not aware that
either of these famous cantatrices repeated the experiment.

* * * * *

For those who intend to follow a concert-singer's career, there is a
vast literature of vocal music specially written for this purpose,
from which to select. There are few modern operatic excerpts which do
not suffer somewhat by being transplanted from the stage to the
concert-platform. In no case is this more clearly proved than in the
selections so frequently given from Wagner's music-dramas. Of course,
I am speaking more particularly of those extracts which require the
services of a vocalist. Such selections given in the concert-room are
in distinct violation of the composer's own wishes, frequently
expressed. Besides lacking the necessary adjuncts of gesture, costume
and scenery, the musical conditions of the concert-room are very
unfavourable to the unfortunate singer. He has to struggle to make
himself heard above the sonorities of a powerful orchestra generally
numbering over a hundred musicians, and placed directly around and
behind him, instead of on a lower level, as in the case of a lyric
theatre. Besides which, Wagner's works can now be heard in all large
cities under the conditions necessary for their proper presentment,
and as intended by their author-composer. Therefore, there is no
longer the same reason as may have existed years ago, for the
performance of extracts at purely symphonic concerts.

In cases where the singer has to select numbers for a symphonic
co