In a western city of 200,000 inhabitants where five years ago it was impossible to draw an audience of a hundred persons unless heralded by spectacular advertising, I had the pleasure of witnessing this year "Standing Room Only" during the performance of the dear old operas, Il Trovatore, Faust and Carmen. The operas that the people have become acquainted with through the phonographs, the orchestras and the grand opera study clubs, organized by the more up-to-date teachers. Mr. Albert Mildenberg is taking up a most commendable work, that of establishing the municipal grand opera in New York City; he will eventually succeed, and, with Herr Andreas Dippel organizing permanent grand opera in the larger cities west of New York, it will not be long before the grand opera positions will be plentiful. Within the next year, through the efforts of Victor Maurel, the grand opera sung in English will also gain ground, and divide honors with the French, German and Italian, giving those who have not studied the foreign languages, but who are otherwise prepared, a chance for positions on the grand opera stage. Some cranks insist that the days of the old Italian opera, with its arias and glorious coloratura work, are passing in order to give place for the new =music drama=. This is not correct, and will not be possible as long as there are excellent singers who can sing these operas. We have room for both the grand opera and the music drama. To be an "artist" is the aim the student has in view, and "study" is the means to that end. "AT WHAT AGE SHALL I TAKE UP THE STUDY OF VOICE CULTURE?" Mrs. L. and her 15-year-old daughter called at my studio. The mother explained that her little girl had been "leading the singing" in school ever since she was eleven years old, but that her voice was not as good as it used to be, and that she would like to have her study, but thought she was too young. I tried the girl's voice and found two registers used so differently that a person sitting in the next room would think they were listening to two persons singing. She had a terrible break between the chest and head tones, and for =four= years had been developing in this bad way of singing. Now, this child should either have taken up voice culture at eleven years of age or not "lead the singing" in school. Children, with very few exceptions, in going from chest to head tones, will sing =with= the throat, not understanding how to make the change, or rather how to place the tone; in this way producing a break, which later in life, when they take up voice culture, will cause endless, and in some cases, permanent trouble.