al
performances were more familiar with the niceties of pronunciation and
accentuation of different foreign languages, many of our present-day
singers would be called upon to suffer some very severe criticisms. I
speak of this because Gounod was most insistent upon correct
pronunciation and accent, so that the full meaning of the words might be
conveyed to every member of the audience.

A HEARING AT THE OPERA

When I went to the opera for my hearing or _audition_, Gounod went with
me and we sang the duets together. The director, M. Gailhard, refused my
application, claiming that I was a debutante and could not expect an
initial performance at the Grand Opera despite my ability and musical
attainments. It may be interesting for aspiring vocal students to learn
something of the various obstacles which still stand in the way of a
singer, even after one has had a very thorough training and acquired
proficiency which should compel a hearing. Alas! in opera, as in many
other lines of human endeavor, there is a political background that is
often black with intrigue and machinations. I was determined to fight my
way on the merit of my art, and accordingly I was obliged to wait for
nearly two years before I was able to make my debut. These were years
filled with many exasperating circumstances.

I went to Brussels after two years' study with Marchesi, having been
promised my debut there. I was kept for months awaiting it and was
finally prevented from making an appearance by one who, pretending to be
my friend and to be doing all in her power to further my career, was in
reality threatening the directors with instant breaking of her contract
should I be allowed to appear. I had this on the authority of Mr.
Gevaert, the then director of the Conservatoire and my firm friend. The
artist was a great success and her word was law. It was on my return
that I was taken to Gounod and I waited a year for a hearing.

Gounod's opera, _Romeo et Juliette_, had been given at the Opera Comique
many times but there was a demand for performances at the Grand Opera.
Accordingly Gounod added a ballet, which fitted it for performance at
the Opera. Apropos of this ballet, Gounod said to me, with no little
touch of cynicism, "Now you shall see what kind of music a _Ga Ga_ can
write" (Ga Ga is the French term for a very old man, that is, a man in
his dotage). He was determined that I should be heard at the Grand Opera
as Juliette, but even his in