Lehmann said of this scale: "It is the only cure for all injuries, and
at the same time the most excellent means of fortification against all
over-exertion. I sing it every day, often twice, even if I have to sing
one of the heaviest roles in the evening. I can rely absolutely upon its
assistance. I often take fifty minutes to go through it once, for I let
no tone pass that is lacking in any degree in pitch, power, duration or
in single vibration of the propagation form."
Personally I supplement this great scale often with various florid
legato phrases of arias selected from the older Italians or Mozart,
whereby I can more easily achieve the vocal facility demanded by the
tessitura of _Manon_ or _Faust_ and change to the darker-hued phrases
demanded in _Carmen_ or _Butterfly_.
But the open secret of all success is patient, never-ending,
conscientious _work_, with a forceful emphasis on the _WORK_.
[Illustration: JOHANNA GADSKI.]