Kaulbach and not the Gretchen of Goethe.

Of course, a great deal depends upon the training and school of the
artist interpreting the role. In my own interpretations I am governed by
certain art principles which seem very vital indeed to me. The figure of
the Mediaeval Princess _Elsa_ has to be represented with a restraint
quite opposed to that of the panting savage _Aida_. Also, the
palpitating, elemental _Tosca_ calls for another type of character
painting than, for instance, the modest, gestureless, timid and womanly
Japanese girl in Mascagni's _Iris_. These things are not taught in
schools by teachers. They come only after the prolonged study which
every conscientious artist must give to her roles. Gounod felt this very
strongly and impressed it upon me. All music had a meaning to him--an
inner meaning which the great mind invariably divines through a kind of
artistic intuition difficult to define. I remember his playing to me the
last act of _Don Giovanni_, which in his hands gained the grandeur and
depth of Greek tragedy. He had in his hands the power to thrill one to
the very utmost. Again he was keenly delighted with the most joyous
passages in music. He was exceptionally fond of Mozart. _Le Nozze di
Figaro_ was especially appreciated. He used to say, after accompanying
himself in the aria of Cherubino the Page, from the 1st act, "Isn't that
Spring? Isn't that youth? Isn't that the joy of life? How marvelously
Mozart has crystallized this wonderful exuberant spirit in his music!"

ONE REASON FOR GOUNOD'S EMINENCE

One reason for Gounod's eminence lay in his great reverence for his art.
He believed in the cultivation of reverence for one's art, as the
religious devotee has reverence for his cult. To Gounod his art was a
religion. To use a very expressive colloquialism, "He never felt himself
above his job." Time and again we meet men and women who make it a habit
to look down upon their work as though they were superior to it. They
are continually apologizing to their friends and depreciating their
occupation. Such people seem foreordained for failure. If one can not
regard the work one is engaged upon with the greatest earnestness and
respect--if one can not feel that the work is worthy of one's deepest
_reverence_, one can accomplish little. I have seen so much of this with
students and aspiring musicians that I feel that I would be missing a
big opportunity if I did not emphasize this fine trait in Gounod