=GIOVANNI MARTINELLI=
"LET US HAVE PLENTY OF OPERA IN AMERICA"
Said the Professor: "How well I remember the first time I heard
Martinelli. We were traveling in Italy that summer, and had arrived in
Verona rather late in the afternoon. The city seemed full of people,
with many strangers, and we could not at first secure accommodations at
the hotel. Inquiring the cause, the answer was: 'Does not the signer
know that to-day is one holiday, and to-night, in the Amphitheater,
_Aïda_ will be sung, under the stars.' We finally secured rooms, and of
course heard the opera that night. Young Martinelli was the Rhadames,
and I shall never forget how splendidly his voice rang out over those
vast spaces of the Arena. It was a most unusual experience to hear that
music sung in the open--'under the stars,' and it was unforgettable."
[Illustration: GIOVANNI MARTINELLI]
Giovanni Martinelli, who has been for several years one of the leading
tenors at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, has warmly entrenched
himself in the hearts of music lovers in America. To be a great singer,
as some one has said, requires, first, voice; second, voice; third,
voice. However, at the present hour a great singer must have more than
voice; we demand histrionic ability also. We want singing actors as well
as great singers.
Mr. Martinelli is the possessor of a beautiful voice and, moreover, is a
fine actor and an excellent musician. He was, first of all, a
clarinetist before he became a singer, and so well did he play his
chosen instrument that his services were in great demand in his home
town in Italy. Then it was discovered he had a voice and he was told he
could make a far greater success with that voice than he ever could
playing the clarinet. He set to work at once to cultivate the voice in
serious earnest and under good instruction. After a considerable time
devoted to study, he made his début in Milan, in Verdi's _Ernani_. His
success won an engagement at Covent Garden and for Monte Carlo.
A visit to the singer's New York home is a most interesting experience.
He has chosen apartments perched high above the great artery of the
city's life--Broadway. From the many sun-flooded windows magnificent
views of avenue, river and sky are visible, while at night the
electrical glamour that meets the eye is fairy-like. It is a sightly
spot and must remind the singer of his own sun lighted atmosphere at
home.
The visitor was welcomed with simple courtesy by a kindly, unaffected
gentleman, who insists he cannot speak "your English," but who, in spite
of this assertion, succeeds in making himself excellently well
understood. One feels his is a mentality that will labor for an object
and will attain it through force of effort. There is determination in
the firm mouth, which smiles so pleasantly when speaking; the thoughtful
brow and serious eyes add their share to the forceful personality. The
Titian-tinted hair indicates, it is said, a birthplace in northern
Italy. This is quite true in the case of Mr. Martinelli, as he comes
from a village not far from Padua and but fifty miles from Venice--the
little town of Montagnana.