All agree there are many other subjects to study besides singing; that
alone is far from sufficient. Edward Johnson says: "Singing itself is
only a part, perhaps the smaller part of one's equipment. If opera be
the goal, there are languages, acting, make up, impersonation,
interpretation, how to walk, all to be added to piano, harmony and
languages. The most important of all is a musical education."
Most of the great singers have emphatically expressed themselves in
favor of piano study. Indeed, many were pianists in the beginning,
before they began to develop the voice. Among those who had this
training are: Galli-Curci, Lehmann, Raisa, D'Alvarez, Barrientos,
Braslau, Case. Miss Braslau says: "I am so grateful for my knowledge of
the piano and its literature; it is the greatest help to me now. To my
thinking all children should have piano lessons; the cost is trifling
compared with the benefits they receive. They should be made to study,
whether they wish it or not, for they do not know what is best for
them."
Mme. Raisa says: "There are so many sides to the singer's equipment
besides singing itself. The piano is a necessity; the singer is greatly
handicapped without a knowledge of that instrument, for it not only
provides accompaniment but cultivates musical sense." "The vocal student
should study piano as well as languages," asserts Mme. Homer; "both are
the essentials. Not that she need strive to become a pianist; that would
not be possible if she is destined to be a singer. But the more she
knows of the piano and its literature, the more this will cultivate her
musical sense and develop her taste."
Florence Easton is even more emphatic. "If a girl is fond of music, let
her first study the piano, for a knowledge of the piano and its music is
at the bottom of everything. All children should have this opportunity,
whether they desire it or not. The child who early begins to study
piano, will often unconsciously follow the melody with her voice. Thus
the love of song is awakened in her, and a little later it is discovered
she has a voice worth cultivating."
On the subject of languages, artists are equally specific. Languages are
an absolute necessity, beginning with one's mother tongue. The student
should not imagine that because he is born to the English language, it
does not require careful study. Galli-Curci remarks: "The singer can
always be considered fortunate who has been brought up to more than one
language. I learned Spanish and Italian at home. In school I learned
French, German and English, not only a little smattering of each, but
how to write and speak them."
Rosa Raisa speaks eight languages, according to her personal statement.
Russian, of course, as she is Russian, then French, Italian, German,
Spanish, Polish, Roumanian and English.
"The duty is laid upon Americans to study other languages, if they
expect to sing," says Florence Easton. "I know how often this study is
neglected by the student. It is only another phase of that haste which
is characteristic of the young student and singer."