Much of the student's early work is marred by fear. He fears to do this
and he fears to do that, until he feels himself walled in by a set of
rules that make his singing stilted. From the very start the singer,
particularly the one who aspires to become an operatic singer, should
endeavor to discard fear entirely. Think that if you fail in your
efforts, thousands of singers have failed in a similar manner in their
student days. Success in singing is at the end of a tall ladder, the
rungs of which are repeated failures. We climb up over our failures to
success. Learn to fear nothing, the public least of all. If the singer
gives the audience the least suspicion that she is in fear of their
verdict, the audience will detect it at once and the verdict will be
bad. Also do not fear the criticism of jealous rivals.
Affirm success. Say to yourself, "I will surely succeed if I persevere."
In this way you will acquire those habits of tranquillity which are so
essential for the singer to possess.