Célestine Galli-Marié | |
|---|---|
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| Born | November 1840 Paris, France |
| Died | 22 September 1905(1905-09-22) (aged 64) Vence, France |
| Occupation | Operaticmezzo-soprano |
Célestine Galli-Marié (French pronunciation:[selɛstinɡalimaʁje]; November 1840 – 22 September 1905) was aFrenchmezzo-soprano, who is most famous for creating the title role inGeorges Bizet'sCarmen.[1]
She was born Marie-Célestine Laurence Marié de l'Isle in November 1840 inParis.[2][3][n 1] She was taught singing by her father,Mécène Marié de l'Isle, who also had a successful opera career.[2] Her début came in 1859 inStrasbourg, and she sang in Italian inLisbon.[5] At the age of fifteen she had married a sculptor named Galli (who died in 1861)[5] and thus took her stage name, Galli-Marié.[citation needed]
Émile Perrin, the director of theOpéra-Comique, heard her performing Balfe'sThe Bohemian Girl atRouen and brought her to Paris. She sang at the Opéra-Comique until 1885, premiering in Pergolesi'sLa serva padrona.[2] Her most famous roles were in Thomas'sMignon (1866) and Bizet'sCarmen (1875). It was said that at the 33rd performance ofCarmen on 2 June 1875, Galli-Marié had a premonition of Bizet's death while singing the cards scene in Act III, and fainted when she left the stage; the composer in fact died that night and the next performance was cancelled due to her indisposition.[6] Undertaking much touring, she performed Carmen in Brussels (16 January 1876), Naples (the Italian premiere), Genoa, Barcelona, Lyon, Liege and Dieppe before returning in the Opéra-Comique revival of the original production on 22 October 1883.[5] In London she appeared atHer Majesty's Theatre in a touring production in 1886, and returned to the Opéra-Comique in 1890 to sing in a fundraising performance to erect a monument to Bizet (this was her final performance).[1]
She also created the roles of Lazarille in Massenet'sDon César de Bazan, Offenbach's Vendredi inRobinson Crusoé and the title role inFantasio. She performed as Kaleel inAimé Maillart'sLara and as Blandine inFrançois-Auguste Gevaert'sLe Capitaine Henriot.[2] She sang inVictor Massé'sFior d'Aliza,Théophile Semet [fr]'sLa Petite Fadette, andErnest Guiraud'sPiccolino. She also appeared as Taven in Gounod'sMireille and Rose Friquet in Maillart'sLes dragons de Villars.[7][8] Sometime in the late 1860s and early 1870s she and the composerÉmile Paladilhe became lovers. Curtiss notes that she kept petmarmosets, and sometimes took them to rehearsal.[5]
She died on 22 September 1905, inVence, France.[3]
Her voice was described as being of a good timbre, with clear diction and phrasing. A high mezzo-soprano voice was at one time referred to as "Galli-Marié".[9] Galli-Marié roles are now sometimes sung bysopranos.[citation needed]
Her sistersIrma andPaola [fr] were also professional singers. Irma created roles inL'amour chanteur in 1864 and inLes bergers in 1865; she toured the US before returning to the Paris Opéra-Comique. Paola was prominent in operetta and created roles forCharles Lecocq, appearing a great deal in the US. Galli-Marié and Irma sang together inMadeleine at theThéâtre des Bouffes Parisiens in 1869.[10]
Notes
References
Media related toCélestine Galli-Marié at Wikimedia Commons
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