from New York after his great
success as _Siegfried_.

This success is the more gratifying and encouraging because,
previously, he had been only a second-rate singer. It was his
conscientious and prolonged study of the German vocal style that
enabled him to win his present lucrative and honorable position. If
there were a few more young singers like him the operatic problem might
be considered solved, for it is the rarity of well-trained singers that
causes all the financial embarrassment in our opera-houses. They are so
scarce, that as soon as one is discovered he is hurried on the stage,
after a year's hasty preparation, and if his untrained voice soon gives
out--as it must under the circumstances--the blame is laid on Wagner's
shoulders. But, as Mme. Lucca remarks, "neither Wagner nor any other
composer spoils the voice of any one who knows how to sing." She thinks
that at least six years of faithful study are necessary to develop the
voice in accordance with artistic principles. Herr Hey is somewhat more
lenient, three years of thorough training sufficing, in his opinion, as
a preparation for the stage. Much, of course, depends on individuals,
and the number of hours given to study every day. In the old Italian
vocal schools, two centuries ago, the pupils were kept busy six or
eight hours a day, devoting one hour to difficult passages, another to
trills and to accuracy of intonation, others to expression, to
counterpoint, composition and accompaniment, etc. They often practised
before a mirror in order to study the position of the soft parts in the
mouth, and to avoid grimaces; and sometimes they sang at places where
there was a good echo, so as to hear their own faults, as if some one
else were singing. Yet, as we have seen, the main stress was laid on
agility of technical execution, whereas the modern German method,
without in the least neglecting technique, calls upon pupils to devote
more attention to the principles of soulful expression and dramatic
accentuation. A singer who wishes to appear to advantage as _Euryanthe_
or _Lohengrin_ or _Tristan_ must not only be entirely familiar with his
own vocal parts but he ought to be as familiar with the orchestral
score as the conductor himself: for, only then, can he acquire that
ease which is necessary for producing a deep impression. As he has not
the conductor's advantage of looking on the printed score while
singing, he must therefore have an excellent memory. As