THE PEABODY INSTITUTE OF THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, FOUNDED 1857
Sept. 10, 1940
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
As you see, this Institute is huge, like a grand monument! But inside all is lively, a beehive of music. I had no idea. This is a world. Thank you, thank you.
Love from your overwhelmed yet happy student,
Evalina
THE PEABODY LIBRARY
Sept. 12, 1940
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
This where I do my work study, for the Scholarship. They call it the “Cathedral of Books,” you can see why, with its wrought-iron stacks soaring many floors up to the skylight. It is a place like reading itself.
Your inspired,
Evalina
SEAGULLS, CHESAPEAKE BAY
Sept. 17, 1940
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
To answer yr. question in haste, I am taking Italian, humanities, music theory/musicology, ensemble arts, and piano of course. And no, thank you, I do not want for a thing. And yes, there are concerts, every day.
Love from yr
Evalina
BALTIMORE HARBOR AT TWILIGHT
Sept. 22, 1940
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
A group of us ate softshell crabs here in a café hanging right out over the water, lights everywhere. And guess what? Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald lived in Baltimore, too, quite near Peabody, in a house named La Paix. They are VERY famous here! I had no idea.
Hello to All from your
Evalina
FORT MCHENRY, BALTIMORE, MD.
Oct, 15, 1940
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
No everything is fine, I have just been so busy, that’s all. To answer yr question, my roommate is Susanah Knox (oboe) from Ohio. She is very serious. Today it is raining and I miss you, and Mrs. Hodges, and the mountains, and all.
From Evalina
P.S. It is very intense here.
THE CAPITOL, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Oct. 18, 1940
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
I am sight-seeing! We came on the bus, we are having a picnic on the mall, ducks are swimming in the big pool. All this grass reminds me of Highland, say hi to Mrs. Hodges and Dr. C for me, and all.
Your Evalina
MOUNT VERNON
Oct. 27, 1940
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
I went on a weekend visit with my friend Barbara Scott (clarinet) to Orange, Va., out in the countryside. Their house is very old. We rode horses! And gave a little concert in the parlor together for all her family and all the neighbors, like at Homewood.
Love from yr
Evalina
THE PEABODY CONSERVATORY CHOIR
Nov. 1, 1940
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
There are more crazy people here than HH! And Susannah Knox has had a nervous breakdown and gone back to Ohio. I hope I do not have to have another roommate. I stayed up all night reading Neitzsche for humanities, now I may have a nervous breakdown myself!
Yr Evalina
A “MESS” OF MARYLAND BLUE CRABS
Nov. 21, 1940
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
I have a new job playing piano for Mrs. Hretzsky’s private vocal lessons. Also Barbara and I are in a quartet together in Ensemble Arts, my favorite course so far. I love it. Also Italian, I am getting the hang of it now!
Ciao from yr
Evalina
JOYEUX NOEL
Dec. 15, 1940
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
Please don’t worry. Of course I understand that it would be too expensive for me to travel back and forth for every holiday. In fact we have many international students who will be staying here for Christmas, too. I have sent a box, I hope it arrives before you leave for Italy. Please understand that I am forever yr grateful
Evalina
SNOW SCENE, VIRGINIA SKYLINE DRIVE
Dec. 28, 1940
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
Actually Christmas was very jolly. Dr. Twomey took us all out to his house, a huge barn filled with children and pets and his beautiful wife (cello) plus a whole roasted pig with an apple in its mouth! Music and singing far into the night. There is a boy here from Sweden, we have gone to the cinema and several concerts during this holiday. He is a tenor.
Happy New Year from yr
Evalina
LUDVIG VAN BEETHOVEN 1770–1827
Jan. 6, 1941
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
Surely not ALL tenors are homosexual! And I AM working hard, believe me! This term it will be more Italian, piano, ensemble arts, early music, and vocal accompanying, which is very helpful since I have also been hired to play for the Peabody Children’s Chorus at practice sessions, I am very excited about this!
Yr very busy,
Evalina
FREDERIC CHOPIN 1810–1849
Jan. 16, 1941
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
I am surprised by your note, though I do see what you mean, and yes, piano remains my focus of course, though I am not brilliant, Mrs. Carroll, not like these others. I know that now. We have prodigies here. I shall work very hard, however, and hope I shall not disappoint you. Be assured that I remain
Yr diligent,
Evalina
THE NORWEGIAN LADY
June 14, 1941
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
This Norwegian Lady looks out over the boardwalk of Virginia Beach where I am thoroughly enjoying my summer job playing for Mrs. Ruth Gardiner, a vocal teacher, and for the quaint Seaside Church upon occasion. Barbara’s job with the Starlight Dinner Theater is much more glamorous. Our boarding house is filled with such characters!
Yr Working Girl,
Evalina
THE HISTORIC CAVALIER HOTEL, VIRGINIA BEACH, VA.
Aug. 5, 1941
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
Guess what? Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald came HERE, too! Along with many others such as Will Rogers, Mary Pickford, and Betty Grable. It makes me think of the Grove Park and Mrs. Fitzgerald and I wonder how she is now, and all. How are YOU? Right now Highland seems very far away from this hot sandy beach. Please write to me,
Yr Evalina
The Maryland Zoo, Baltimore, Md.
Sept.18, 1941
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
It is français, français, et plus de français this term! I am taking French language and diction/voice and also opera accompaniment. I love Massenet, do you? especially “Manon.”
Au revoir,
Evalina
“AUTUMN LEAVES”
Oct.2, 1941
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
Now I have learned the most important skill of the accompanist—learning to breathe with the singer! That means playing on the vowels and breathing with the singer’s every breath, in and out, Mme. LeBlanc calls this the “shared intimacy of breath and being,” isn’t that beautiful?
Yr thrilled,
Evalina
THE TRAINING CHOIR
Nov. 11, 1941
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
Here is my darling Children’s Chorus and there is my favorite, little Alex Chadbourne, 4th from the left in the third row. His hair is flaming red and his eyes are robin’s egg blue though you cannot tell that of course from the photograph. He has a hard little life but a heavenly voice, like an angel.
Yr Evalina
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART, 1756–1791
April 18, 1942
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
After much soul-searching and many conversations with my teachers here, I have chosen ensemble arts/vocal accompanying and music education as my primary fields, for after all I must earn a living, must I not? And I am proud to do so, and eternally grateful to you and Dr. Carroll for this miraculous (for so it still seems to me) opportunity.
Yr ever grateful,
Evalina
“MORE THAN I CAN SAY”
Aug. 27, 1942
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
Thank you and Dr. Carroll very much for the lovely visit back to North Carolina, it meant so much to me to be among my beloved mountains again and to see all of you, though now I wonder if I have done anything to offend you, perhaps? If so I assure you that it was entirely unintentional as I esteem and appreciate you and Dr. Carroll above all others in the world, and so, IF so, forgive me.
Mi dispiace,
Yr Evalina
FRANZ PETER SCHUBERT 1797–1828
Nov. 8, 1942
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
I have hesitated for weeks to pen this note, yet must now inform you that I have not been chosen for a solo piano recital as my senior performance, instead I shall accompany soprano Lillian Field, the star of our class, in a program to be presented Feb. 10th at 7 o’clock in the Great Hall. This is an honor. A proper invitation to follow. I hope so much that you and Dr. C can come!
Yr Evalina
“THANK YOU”
Feb 11, 1943
Dear Mrs. Carroll and Dr. Carroll,
Finally, a proper letter to thank you for the graduated pearls, they are just beautiful. I wore them at the performance with my new black taffeta dress, a gift from Barbara’s family. I was so surprised to look out at the audience and see Mrs. Hodges, Moira, Ruthie, and Miss Tippen along with her nice new husband, all sitting there. Oh, how I wish you could have come too! I still can’t believe that Lillian Field asked me to play for her, she was just brilliant! She chose a really hard Richard Strauss program, which included my absolute favorite song in the world, “Morgen!,” Op. 27, No. 4. Do you know it? The words go something like
In the morning the sun will shine again
As we walk the happy path together
Across the sun-breathing earth.
And all around us will sing
The muted silence of happiness
And I want you to know that I am happy, Mrs. Carroll and Dr. Carroll, and I am proud to say that I played well, all thanks to you.
Soon to be yr graduate,
Evalina
WILD PONIES, ASSATEAGUE ISLAND
October 16, 1943
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
I disagree with you! I love my work here at Peabody, both with the little chorus and with Mrs. Hretsky’s singers, and also the living quarters where I now reside as dormitory counselor, a privilege, I assure you! I am proud to be yr working girl,
Evalina
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
1756–1791
Jan. 21, 1944
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
Perhaps you will feel better to learn that at a recent recital I was asked to fill in for Jules Brunhoff who had fallen ill at the last possible moment (!) accompanying Joseph Nero, a visiting Fellow, he is very Italian, all swagger and flash, as if straight from Rome. He received a standing ovation, and I believe I performed creditably.
Evalina
THE EASTERN SHORE
Mar. 6, 1944
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
Don’t worry, nothing is wrong. Joseph Nero has selected me as his personal accompanist and assistant—so, along with my other duties, I am yr VERY busy,
Evalina
LYRIC OPERA HOUSE, BALTIMORE, MD.
June 2, 1944
My dear Mrs. Carroll,
Au contraire I have left Peabody in order to establish my own career and accompany my fiancé Joseph Nero who has recently joined the Baltimore Opera at the urging of Rosa Ponselle herself. Perhaps you have heard of her.
Best wishes,
Evalina
CARMEN, GEORGES BIZET
June 18, 1944
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
In answer to yr question, Joseph spent his childhood in Italy, coming to America at age 9 with his family. He was trained in Philadelphia at the Academy of Vocal Arts founded by Helen Corning Warden. His mentor is Edgar Milton Cook, perhaps you have heard of him.
Best Wishes,
Evalina Toussaint
HARBOR LIGHTS, BALTIMORE
Aug. 23, 1944
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
While Joseph and I do appreciate yr kind invitation, we cannot plan a visit to Asheville at present as we shall be relocating to San Francisco immediately. The San Francisco Opera has made Joseph an offer he cannot refuse. So we are heading West! I hope it pleases you to imagine yr old steamer trunk embarking upon such a journey.
Au revoir,
Evalina
FISHERMAN’S WHARF, SAN FRANCISCO
Sept. 30, 1944
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
For your information, we are certainly engaged to be married! Joseph presented me with a beautiful diamond and emerald engagement ring just after his debut performance as Pollione in Bellini’s “Norma,” do you know it? And I continue to work simply because I enjoy it.
Our best wishes,
Evalina
ÉGLISE SAINT-EUSTACHE, C. 1637, PLACE DU JOUR, PARIS
Sept. 10, 1945
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
Our new address is 5 rue Coquilliere in Les Halles, the marketplace. It is very colorful, quite near the Cathedral of St. Eustache, with its great organ. Have you heard of it?
Evalina
THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, NEW YORK CITY
June 9, 1946
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
As you see, we are stateside now as Joseph has joined Fortune Gallo’s San Carlo Touring Company with recent roles in “Tosca” and “Pagliacci”—plus his Tristan, of course. I find myself thinking of you; I hope that you and Dr. C are well.
Evalina
HOTEL DES FLEURS, VIEUX CARRE
Aug. 11, 1946
Dear Mrs. Carroll,
Look! Fortune Gallo has deposited us in New Orleans of all places, with performances at the Municipal Theater and an actual address: Hotel des Fleurs (above). How I should love to hear from you.
Evalina