Whether it will be so or not remains to be seen. But certainly it may be said that never before have students been so wonderfully helped. I myself have pleasure in testifying that I have derived the greatest benefit as well as delight from the records of Patti, while Mr. John McCormack has similarly acknowledged his indebtedness to the wonderful renderings of Caruso.
And I hope in all modesty that students of the present generation may derive similar help in turn from the records which I myself have made. Beyond a doubt the gramophone should be the guide, philosopher, and friend—the most trusted and most competent aid and coadjutor—not only to every student, but also to every teacher of the present day.
Of course, the pupil is only human and often reluctant to believe that there are grave faults in his voice. Whilst others can detect his mistakes, the pupil cannot listen intelligently to his own faulty emission while singing.
But take him to a recording-room and get him to sing into the recording-horn, and let him listen as the operator tries over the record he has made. He is sure to be surprised to find how many faults there are.
His production may be throaty, nasal, or what you will. It is all brought out clearly by the gramophone.
There is no instrument that is so calculated to remove the conceit from a young artist as the gramophone. To watch his face as he first listens to his own voice is usually to enjoy a miniature pantomime.
Nevertheless, the gramophone is a spur to drive the artist forward to perfection, and, of course, a great aid to the music professor.
Chapter XXV
STUDYING A RÔLE
DIFFERENT artists have different methods of studying their parts, but all I think will be agreed on one point, namely, that they cannot possibly be learned too thoroughly. Marvellous stories are told, no doubt, of difficult rôles having been completely mastered by prodigious efforts in a fabulously short time. But he is taking terrible risks who attempts a tour de force of this kind, and in my own opinion no artist should ever be asked to do this. To master a rôle in the proper way should be a matter of weeks and months, not to say years, of careful study so that it becomes part and parcel, as it were, of the very being of the artist. Then, and then only, can it be attempted on the stage with that absolute confidence and assurance and that entire freedom from anxiety without which the best results cannot possibly be hoped for.
Very foolish, or at all events very courageous, is the young artist who for the sake of an appearance at all costs essays a part which he, or she, has not thoroughly prepared beforehand—for that way disaster lies. A part simply cannot be too well studied if failure and mishaps are to be absolutely assured against.