"A singer who would keep her voice in the best condition, should
constantly and reasonably exercise it. I always do a half hour or so of
exercises, vocalizes and scales every morning; these are never
neglected. But I never do anything to strain the voice in any way. We
are told many fallacies by vocal teachers. One is that the diaphragm
must be held firmly in order to give support to the tone. It seems to me
this is a serious mistake. I keep the diaphragm relaxed. Thus tone
production, in my case, is made at all times with ease; there is never
any strain. You ask if it is not very fatiguing to sing against a large
orchestra, as we have to, and with a temperamental conductor, like
Marinuzzi, for instance, I do not find it so; there is a pure, clear
tone, which by its quality, placement and ease of production, will carry
farther than mere power ever can. It can be heard above a great
orchestra, and it _gets over_.