It is not often that one compasses one’s ambition to the full. More
frequently it will be found that those whom the world calls successful
are successful in part only, and that much is left unfilled. It is open
to question, however, whether the man who has fully realized his hope
is more happy than he to whom somewhat remains for which to crave and
struggle. The answer to the question involved could hardly be given
by Emma Eames, prima donna, for humanly speaking, she seems to have
achieved the ambitions and the purposes of her life. The singer was
born in Shanghai, China, August 13, 1867, of American parentage. Her
childhood was spent in Boston, her musical education being at first
under the direction of her mother and later under Miss Munyard, a
well-known teacher of vocalism. While singing in a church choir in
Boston, she attracted the attention of Prof. Gericke, then leader of
the Boston symphony orchestra, and Prof. Paine, of Harvard, both of
whom became interested in her. It was under their direction that the
technical foundation of her future fame was laid. By their advice and
with their assistance, she took lessons from Mme. Marchesi, of Paris,
for two years and later, after instruction in operatic rôles by Prof.
Gevart, chief of the Brussels conservatory of music, she made her début
in Paris in Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet. A pronounced and spontaneous
success was hers, and the news that a comparatively unknown American
girl had become famous in a night excited the interest of musically
inclined people all over the world. Gounod himself declared that she
was his ideal Juliet. During her engagement in Paris, Miss Eames was
the recipient of many social and official attentions, the president
of the French republic honoring her with a decoration. In 1891 and
the year following, she appeared in grand opera at the Covent Garden
opera house, London, where she also scored. In 1893 and 1894 she gave
New York audiences a taste of her quality by appearing in opera at
the Metropolitan opera house and won immediate popular favor. She is
installed a permanent favorite in musical circles of this country. In
1891 she married Julian, son of W. W. Story, the sculptor.