If we were asked to name one of the best known, and best loved of
American singers, the choice would surely fall on David Bispham. This
artist, through his vocal, linguistic and histrionic gifts, his serious
aims and high ideals, has endeared himself to musicians and music lovers
alike. We are all proud of him as an American, and take a sort of
personal pride in his achievements.
Mr. Bispham has been before the public as actor-singer for many years.
There is no other artist in the English-speaking world who has had
greater experience in all kinds of vocal work than this "Quaker Singer,"
as he calls himself, for he comes from Philadelphia, and is of old
English, Quaker, Colonial stock. His professional début was made in
London, in 1891, with the Royal English Opera Company, as the Duc De
Longueville, in the beautiful Opera Comique, _The Basoche_, by Messager.
The following year he appeared in Wagnerian Music Drama at the Royal
Opera, Covent Garden, performing the part of Kurwenal, in _Tristan and
Isolde_, without rehearsal. His adaptability to music in English,
French, Italian and German, caused him to be at once accepted as a
member of that distinguished company.
In 1896, Mr. Bispham joined the forces of the Metropolitan Opera House,
New York, and remained there for a number of years, singing each season
alternately on both sides of the ocean. Of recent years he has devoted
most of his time to concerts, though he is one of the founders and
officers of the Society of American Singers, with which artistic body he
frequently appears in the classic operas of Mozart, Pergolesi, Donizetti
and others.
My first conference with Mr. Bispham was held in his New York studio.
Here, in this artistic retreat where absolute quiet reigns, though
located in the heart of the great city's busy life, the noted singer
teaches and works out his programs and various characterizations.