especially among the upper classes." The article then goes into a story of her making her first public appearance in a joint recital with a violinist at the home of the distinguished Salmon family " I feel that Mme.Salmon understands very thoroughly the race question in America. She has made a special study of it and is very much interested in the general progress of the Negro." As Lillian's popularity grew she sang opera at Toulon, Montpelier and Monte Carlo where in 1926 she was a guest artist of the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra. Finally, in 1927 she was invited to sing in Paris. The Chicago Defender reviewed her singing the same role at the Trianon-Lyrique in Paris during Christmas Eve of 1927 "When the posters all over Paris announced that an American would interpret "Lakme" on Christmas Eve night, the theater-going public began to wonder. An American interpreting the leading role at the Trianon-Lyrique? That's one of the things which almost never happen. She was no longer an American singing in French, she was an artist of rare ability; she was all that Delibes himself could have desired in his heroine." During her time in Europe, Evanti would return home to Washington every summer and would give concerts in the area. Along with spirituals, Lillian presented a wide range of repertoire including works by Handel, Scarlatti, Bellini, Rameau which grabbed the attention of a few "white" papers, although they neglected to identify her as a black singer. As Evanti's reputation and demand grew, her marriage began to suffer. Her husband Roy Tibbs who was once enthusiastic in supporting her career was now beginning to resent her success. In September 1925 while visiting her family she found that Roy had moved out of their house and was terribly ill. After nursing him back to health, Lillian returned to France only to come back again two years later to a cold and empty house. Evanti decided to sue Roy for separate maintenance. In an article by The New York Amsterdam News on August 22, 1927 " she sought to return to him and that he refused to see her, that when she went to see him he left the house and that she and her son remained. Mrs. Tibbs stated that from 1924 to 1927 she did not receive more than $225 from her husband for her support and assistance maintenance. She