Augustine Albert, also known as Augustine Albert-Himm (28 August 1791 – after 1846) was a French opera singer who sang leading soprano roles at the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

from 1806 to 1823. Amongst the many roles she created in their world premieres was the title role of Spontini's ''

Olimpie ''Olimpie'' (also spelled ''Olympie'') is an opera in three acts by Gaspare Spontini. The French libretto, by Armand-Michel Dieulafoy and Charles Brifaut, is based on the by Voltaire (1761). ''Olimpie'' was first performed on 22 December 1819 by ...

''. Born in Paris and trained at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, she was also a principal singer of the '' Chapelle royale'' until 1830. She was married to

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

, ''

danseur noble A ''danseur noble'' traditionally was a male ballet dancer who projected great nobility of character. Over the last century the term has been used to define a male principal dancer who performs at the highest theatrical level combining grace with ...

'' of the Paris Opéra.

Life and career

Albert was born Louise-Marguerite-Augustine Himm in Paris. She entered the

in 1803 where she was a pupil of

Charles-Henri Plantade Charles-Henri Plantade (14 October 1764 – 18 December 1839) was a French classical composer and singing professor. His compositions included several operas, numerous romances, sacred music, and a sonata for harp. He taught singing at the Conserva ...

. The following year she received the conservatory's first prize in singing and later studied with the

castrato A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

singer

Girolamo Crescentini Girolamo Crescentini (Urbania, 2 February 1762 – Naples 24 April 1846) was a noted Italian soprano castrato, singing teacher, and composer. Biography He studied in Bologna with the noted teacher Lorenzo Gibelli and made his debut in 1783, qu ...

. She first appeared at the Paris Opéra in 1803 at the age of 12 as L'Amour (

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

) in Cherubini's '' Anacréon''. However, her official debut there came in 1806 when she sang Antigone in Sacchini's ''

Œdipe à Colone is an operatic tragédie lyrique by Antonio Sacchini first performed at Versailles on 4 January 1786 in the presence of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The libretto, by Nicolas-François Guillard, is based on the play ''Oedipus at Colonus'' b ...

''. She went on to sing in the world premieres of multiple operas and also appeared in the leading soprano roles of many others, including Julia in ''

La Vestale ''La vestale'' (''The Vestal Virgin'') is an opera composed by Gaspare Spontini to a French libretto by Étienne de Jouy. It takes the form of a ''tragédie lyrique'' in three acts. It was first performed on 15 December 1807 by the Académie Impé ...

'', Amazily in ''

Fernand Cortez ''Fernand Cortez, ou La conquête du Mexique '' (''Hernán Cortés, or The Conquest of Mexico'') is an opera in three acts by Gaspare Spontini with a French libretto by Étienne de Jouy and Joseph-Alphonse Esménard. It was first performed on 28 N ...

'', and Eurydice in ''

Orphée et Eurydice ' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the '' azione teatrale'', meaning an ...

''. After her marriage in 1811 to the dancer

, she performed under the name Augustine Albert. The couple had two children, a son Alexander, and a daughter Elisa, both of whom became dancers of some note but never achieved the fame of their father. For many years Albert was also a principal singer in the '' Chapelle royale'' of

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

and later

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...

. She retired from the Paris Opéra in 1823 but continued as a singer of the ''Chapelle royale'' until 1830 when she retired to

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. The date of her death is unknown, but she was still alive in 1846 according to an article on artists receiving pensions from the Paris Opéra in ''L'Album de Sainte-Cécile''.

Roles created

Augustine Albert as Philis in Le Rossignol

Roles created by Albert in their world premieres include: *L'Amour in '' Anacréon'' (

opéra-ballet ''Opéra-ballet'' (; plural: ''opéras-ballets'') is a genre of French Baroque lyric theatre that was most popular during the 18th century, combining elements of opera and ballet, "that grew out of the '' ballets à entrées'' of the early seven ...

in 2 acts) composed by

Luigi Cherubini Luigi Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the gre ...

, libretto by C.R. Mendouze, premiered Paris Opéra, 4 October 1803 *Galatea in ''

Pimmalione ''Pimmalione'' (''Pygmalion'') is an opera in one act by Luigi Cherubini, first performed at the Théâtre des Tuileries, Paris, on 30 November 1809. The libretto is an adaptation by Stefano VestrisStefano Vestris, "a stage poet of no ability", w ...

'' (opera in 1 act) composed by Luigi Cherubini, libretto by Stefano Vestris; premiered

Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from ...

, 30 November 1809 *Méala in ''

Abel Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepher ...

'' (opera in 3 acts) composed by

Rodolphe Kreutzer Rodolphe Kreutzer (15 November 1766 – 6 January 1831) was a French violinist, teacher, conductor, and composer of forty French operas, including ''La mort d'Abel'' (1810). He is probably best known as the dedicatee of Beethoven's Violin Sona ...

, libretto by

François-Benoît Hoffman François-Benoît Hoffman (11 July 1760 – 25 April 1828) was a French playwright and critic, best known today for his operatic librettos, including those set to music by Étienne Méhul and Luigi Cherubini (most notably Cherubini's ''Médée'', ...

; premiered Paris Opéra, 23 March 1810 *Ériphile in '' Les amazones'' (opera in 3 acts) composed by

Étienne Méhul Étienne Nicolas Méhul (; 16 November 1765 ~ 24 December 1817) was a French composer of the Classical period (music), classical period. He was known as "the most important opera composer in France during the French Revolution, Revolution". He wa ...

, libretto by

Étienne de Jouy Étienne, a French analog of Stephen or Steven, is a masculine given name. An archaic variant of the name, prevalent up to the mid-17th century, is Estienne. Étienne, Etienne, Ettiene or Ettienne may refer to: People Scientists and inventors * ...

; premiered Paris Opéra, 17 December 1811 *Elvine in ''Pélage, ou Le roi et la paix'' (opera in 2 acts) composed by

Gaspare Spontini Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini (14 November 177424 January 1851) was an Italian opera composer and conductor from the classical era. Biography Born in Maiolati, Papal State (now Maiolati Spontini, Province of Ancona), he spent most of his ca ...

, libretto by Étienne de Jouy; premiered Paris Opéra, 23 August 1814 *Philis in ''Le Rossignol'' (

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

in 1 act) composed by

Louis-Sébastien Lebrun Louis-Sébastien Lebrun (10 December 1764 in Paris - 27 June 1829 idem) was a French opera singer and composer. Biography As a tenor, he wrote the music of several operas and scenes on booklets, among others, of Charles-Guillaume Étienne, A ...

, libretto by

Charles-Guillaume Étienne Charles-Guillaume Étienne (5 January 177813 March 1845) was a 19th-century French playwright. Biography He was born in Chamouilley, Haute-Marne. He held various municipal offices under the Revolution and came in 1793 to Paris, where he prod ...

; premiered Paris Opéra, 23 April 1816 *Thémis and La Renommée in ''Les dieux rivaux ou Les fêtes de Cythère'' (opéra-ballet in 1 act) jointly composed by

Berton Berton is a both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: As a surname *Alain Berton, (1912–1979), French chemical engineer specialized in toxicology * Annibale Berton (born 1936), Italian Olympic canoeist * George Frede ...

, Kreutzer, Loiseau de Persuis and

Spontini Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini (14 November 177424 January 1851) was an Italian opera composer and conductor from the classical era. Biography Born in Maiolati, Papal State (now Maiolati Spontini, Province of Ancona), he spent most of his ...

, libretto by Charles Brifaut and Armand-Michel Dieulafoy; premiered Paris Opéra, 21 June 1816 to mark the marriage of the

Duke of Berry Duke of Berry (french: Duc de Berry) or Duchess of Berry (french: Duchesse de Berry) was a title in the Peerage of France. The Duchy of Berry, centred on Bourges, was originally created as an appanage for junior members of the French royal family ...

) *Zirphile in ''Zirphile et Fleur de Myrte'' ( opéra-féerie in 2 acts) composed by

Charles-Simon Catel Charles-Simon Catel (10 June 1773 – 29 November 1830) was a French composer and educator born at L'Aigle, Orne. Biography Catel studied at the Royal School of Singing in Paris. He was the chief assistant to François-Joseph Gossec at the or ...

, libretto by Étienne de Jouy; premiered Paris Opéra, 29 June 1818 *Olimpie in ''

'' (opera in 3 acts) composed by Gaspare Spontini, libretto by Charles Brifaut and Armand-Michel Dieulafoy; premiered Paris Opéra, 22 December 1819

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albert, Augustine 1791 births 19th-century deaths French operatic sopranos Conservatoire de Paris alumni