Her real name was Germaine Pointu. At first, she wanted to become a
pianist, but then she studied voice at the National Conservatory in Paris with
the teachers Albers und Engel. She made her debut in 1925 at the Paris Grand
Opéra as Euryclée in ‘’Pénélope’’ by Gabriel Fauré. In 1927 she came to the
Opéra-Comique in Paris, where she first sang smaller roles, then roles like
Charlotte in ‘’Werther’’, Carmen, Mignon, and Geneviève in ‘’Pelléas et
Mélisande’’. In 1930 at that house she took part in the world premiere of the
opera ‘’Le Sicilien’’ by Omer Letorey. She had important successes at the
Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels and on French provincial stages. She gave
guest performances in North Africa, in Switzerland, in England, Ireland and
Italy, where she appeared in the 1939 Florence May Festival as Florenz in
Ravel's ‘’L'Enfant et les sortilèges’’. In a broadcast of French Radio she even
undertook the soprano role in ‘’Pelléas et Mélisande’’. She was regarded as one
of the leading French concert altos of her generation, above all as a great
Bach interpreter. She was on the point of entering a convent when she suddenly
died. In addition to her exquisitely cultured (above all in the high register)
voice, her ingenious art of delivery as well as her mastery of phrasing were
treasured. She represented a voice type which the French designate
'Galli-Marié' (after the great prima donna, Célestine Galli-Marié).
No comments:
Post a Comment