Madame Melba.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 113, 17 May 1904, Page 4

Madame Melba.

Hk - .*' THE GREAT DIVA TALKS OF §§§> HER WORK. PS HER LATEST SUCCESS. Ik at' Melba ! jlvV The great diva was at home in her |ffe~ tplendid house in Great Cuuiberland||p!- place. KK* What a wealth of reminiscence of Lgrand opera in three continents flash- | ed across one's mind yesterday, ? writes a Daily Chronicle representa- | 'tive, when the door opened, and a I -voice, unmistakable, died away as tf the last notes of an accompaniment rippled in one's ears. Melba was y. practising. }•' Beaming with smiles she ros# from her piano, and after extending a L kiand to her visitor, settled her«elf amongst the cushions,, and gaily bade him welcome. And could one conceive of a picture I, more womanly than this ? She had been telling me of her six weeks at . Monte Carlo. "Of course I had bouquets and .. flowers every day. I always get those. : But incidents—no, except one." Here it is. As everybody knows, *s- .the real object of lime. Meiba's visit to Monte Carlo was a new opera. But the world *?oeS not know that around £*,-} the story is woven a life-time's friendship with a " dear, old man," Saint Saens, the composer. He had t 'S written a new opera. Who was to ■£? " create " it ? His thoughts turned . to Melba. Would she come ? How ||» nobly she answered the call may be |K,' seen in the fact that without a ino]g ment's rest she sped away to the IB*.. south immediately, interrupting her BS American tour to place her services mi} at the disposal of the composer. And pj now " Helene" has succeeded beyond ».•- sven Meiba's dreams. But the inci- ' '<knt. The day after the first producSf, r fcion Mme. Melba was strolling up |the heights behind Monte Carwh.en sucWenl y there rang through the air a few bars of "the duet," fe i whistled by two men seated on a sj rocky crag above her. " Wasn't it wonderful ?" she said. i-. " They could not have been members *, of the orchestra. I knew them all. |, y They were perfect strangers who must have been present whilst I was singf. {f"K- And they rendered it without a .ingie mistake. How I was pleased, r*, Surely the music will be popular af- £,*■ tec that ?" ji~ Naturally one wanted to know all about the opera. £ HER GREATEST SUCCESS, i- " Ah, it is grand. It will be mj | greatest success. London must hear f tt, but I don't know when. That is to he arranged yet. The piece is writg" ,tm in one act, and occupies an hour 2'. and a quarter. During the whole of the time I am working hard, very f" hard. Never once do I leave the . • Stage. Of course you know the story, ft-* Who does not ? And it is written in f,- tragic style, and it is in fact one '? great crescendo of tragedy, leading k . yp to the final duet, which makes f with det&ands even upon me, that ' all is over lam tired, worn s 1 out." e.. Then for a moment the features of £ the great singer softened. Saint jj Zaeos was in her mind again, " the t' man .'' the hero of her great v" e * on- " He composed it, I creat- ™ 'V that was the key-note of the ! , grateful he was. See r 1 haw tetters from him." One ietP tar said : '• Like all great artists, S y° u are never satisfied with vour 5 "J™ work - Your voice is one marvellous dream, and you make such b .wonderful use of it I" r. tJ Another letter,"'she continue*A have, written five minutes Vv tore I went on to the Btaw>tXTfx ffe four banci" a note ' writin g ou ' the T r !ot niy guidance. And I y', forget, did I?" turning to I,"" m At tilc "quired moment. -Jr 1 followed his instructions, and pleasK/ Wm immensely, but I might have If,- disappointed him." " Surely, madame, never?" * Ah - yea 1 was ill, you know, p lhe opera was produced on Febru- " "y 18. It was only on the lOth-a -week before—that I had been proIP". nounced well enough to take my part. No sooner had I got to Mon£r>, to Carlo than I had a severe attack ' v" 1 bronchitis. weather was awgt» ful- Cold and rain every flay. I was "better ofi than I am here." Out"ds itt the street a drizzling rain pattered on the window, and one £ thought gratefully of the cheerful fire the room. " Yes, I thought 1 m should never sins." I*'' STDDYING IN THE TIiAIN. Ir Hard work ? Ah, it is hard, even When I am well. For this opera 1 had been working three months, rep' hearsing for four hours each day. And how do you think I learned n:j part ? Guess. No ? I studiM it during my train journeys of October, , November and December. Literally V- I teamed it on the road. There was 5?';" Ho other chance for me. So I had a piano put into my drawing-room car and practisod as we rushed along at fc. fifty miles an hour." &f_' One was almost tempted to beE. lieve tiie feat impossible—the rattle of the train, the noise. Were th-'v not almost unbearable ? g, -'I never thought of theui," and Mat(ame smiled, as if proud of the determination that could accomplish 5 such wonders. " I got useil to it." |i-. That was all. But it ?s tiring in the |. extreme. Day after day, week in and V week out, always Nevertheless I couldn't live without it. !> It its my life." And the .'utaro. What was there in y stoie for us 7 I am just starting on my pro- "• vincial tour, Cheltenham, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, and oth- ; er places. In all, there will be ten r concerts, which will occupy me till the end of the month. Then I go to » Paris to sing " Rigoletto" in a v great charity performance at the } .Thwtre Sarah Bernhardt, I think, tor one night. Perhaps I shall take a holiday after that, and then comes , the opera season,when I hope I shall be able to give you 'Helene.' And peHtaps Saint Saens will come too. 6 And now time is precious." h-'< But the interviewer had one quesItion more. The effect was electrical, as he asked, " Did Madame ever think of retiring?" Melba, the great Melba, sprang to , her feet. "My good fellow, I'm not forty yet. Retire ? Retire ? When I :am forty-five, perhaps. Hut now. never." And she laughed long and merrily. ! . The idea of retirement was so ridiculous. r-