Emma Eames.
It is not often that one compasses one’s ambition to the full. More frequently it will be found that those whom the world calls successful are successful in part only, and that much is left unfilled. It is open to question, however, whether the man who has fully realized his hope is more happy than he to whom somewhat remains for which to crave and struggle. The answer to the question involved could hardly be given by Emma Eames, prima donna, for humanly speaking, she seems to have achieved the ambitions and the purposes of her life. The singer was born in Shanghai, China, August 13, 1867, of American parentage. Her childhood was spent in Boston, her musical education being at first under the direction of her mother and later under Miss Munyard, a well-known teacher of vocalism. While singing in a church choir in Boston, she attracted the attention of Prof. Gericke, then leader of the Boston symphony orchestra, and Prof. Paine, of Harvard, both of whom became interested in her. It was under their direction that the technical foundation of her future fame was laid. By their advice and with their assistance, she took lessons from Mme. Marchesi, of Paris, for two years and later, after instruction in operatic rôles by Prof. Gevart, chief of the Brussels conservatory of music, she made her début in Paris in Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet. A pronounced and spontaneous success was hers, and the news that a comparatively unknown American girl had become famous in a night excited the interest of musically inclined people all over the world. Gounod himself declared that she was his ideal Juliet. During her engagement in Paris, Miss Eames was the recipient of many social and official attentions, the president of the French republic honoring her with a decoration. In 1891 and the year following, she appeared in grand opera at the Covent Garden opera house, London, where she also scored. In 1893 and 1894 she gave New York audiences a taste of her quality by appearing in opera at the Metropolitan opera house and won immediate popular favor. She is installed a permanent favorite in musical circles of this country. In 1891 she married Julian, son of W. W. Story, the sculptor.