Anna Malenfant (October 16, 1902 – June 15, 1988) was a Canadian singer, educator and composer.

Early years and career

She was born in

Shediac, New Brunswick Shediac (official in both languages; ''Shédiac'' is colloquial French) is a heavily Acadian town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. The town is home to the famous Parlee Beach and is known as the "Lobster Capital of the World". It hosts ...

. Malenfant began her career with a performance of ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

''in Moncton. She received a bursary that allowed her to study at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...

; she went on to study with

Félia Litvinne Félia Litvinne (11 October 1860, Saint Petersburg – 12 October 1936, Paris) was a Russian-born, French-based dramatic soprano. She was particularly associated with Wagnerian roles, although she also sang a wide range of parts by other opera co ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and with Massimiliano Perilli in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. On her return to North America in 1929, she sang on radio station WITC in Hartford, Connecticut for a year under the name Louise Malmont. She studied with Salvator Issaurel in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

from 1930 to 1939. In 1932, with Ludovic Huot and

Lionel Daunais Noël Ferdinand Lionel Daunais, (December 31, 1901 – July 18, 1982) was a French Canadian baritone and composer. Life Born in Montreal, Quebec, Daunais studied singing with Céline Marier and harmony and composition with Oscar O'Brien ...

, she founded the Trio lyrique. She performed with the Société des concerts symphoniques de Montréa (later the

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. It is the only orch ...

). Malenfant performed in a number of operas, including '' Carmen'', ''

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel '' Th ...

'' and '' Boris Godunov''. After 1944, she mainly performed in recitals and also taught. In 1958, she received a

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the fede ...

grant which allowed her to further develop her vocal technique in Rome. She composed several songs published under the name Marie Lebrun which were inspired by the area where she was born in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

Death

Malenfant died in Montreal at the age of 82.

Legacy

École Anna-Malenfant in

Dieppe, New Brunswick Dieppe () is a city in the Canadian maritime province of New Brunswick. Statistics Canada counted the population at 28,114 in 2021, making it the fourth-largest city in the province. Dieppe's history and identity goes back to the eighteenth ...

was named in her honour. In 2001, a documentary ''Anna Malenfant d'Acadie'' was produced based on archival material.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malenfant, Anna 1902 births 1988 deaths Canadian contraltos 20th-century Canadian women opera singers Canadian music educators Canadian women music educators Acadian people Canadian women composers