“When did you part with Gilmore?”
“At the end of that tour. He determined to return to America, and I had decided to spend some of my earnings on further study in Italy. Accordingly, I went to Milan, to the singing teacher San Giovanni. On arriving there, I visited the old teacher and stated my object. I said that I wanted to sing in grand opera.”
“‘WHY DON’T YOU SING IN GRAND OPERA?’
“He answered; ‘let me hear your voice.’
“I sang an aria from ‘Lucia’; and, when I was through, he said, dryly: ‘You want to sing in grand opera?’
“‘Yes.’
“‘Well, why don’t you?’
“‘I need training.’
“‘Nonsense!’ he answered. ‘We will attend to that. You need a few months to practice Italian methods,—that is all.’
“So I spent three months with him. After much preparation, I made my début as Violetta in Verdi’s opera, ‘La Traviata,’ at the Teatro Grande, in Brescia.”