Caroline Dumas (born 15 January 1935) is a French

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

considered as "probably the most emblematic student of the lyrical singer

Charles Panzéra Charles uguste LouisPanzéra (February 16, 1896 in Geneva – June 6, 1976 in Paris) was a Swiss operatic and concert baritone.''Piano ma non solo'', Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Anagramme Ed., 2012, Overview Panzéra's studies at the Paris Conser ...

Life

Born in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

, after obtaining three first prizes 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 hired by the

Paris Opera 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 ...

where she distinguished herself as a soloist for fifteen years, under the baton of

Georges Prêtre Georges Prêtre (; 14 August 1924 – 4 January 2017) was a French orchestral and opera conductor. Biography Prêtre was born in Waziers ( Nord), and attended the Douai Conservatory and then studied harmony under Maurice Duruflé and conducting ...

and other prestigious conductors. At the

Palais Garnier The Palais Garnier (, Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (, Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from ...

where she began, among the roles for which she was known, first under the name of Micheline Dumas and then Caroline Dumas, were those of Frasquita (in 1962, 1964, 1966) in Bizet's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'', Marceline in Beethoven's ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with ...

'' (in 1968), Micaëla in ''Carmen'' (1969, 1970) and Marguerite (in Gounod's ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

''). She has also performed for more than thirty years in many opera houses around the world. A singing teacher at the

École Normale de Musique de Paris The École Normale de Musique de Paris "Alfred Cortot" (ENMP) is a leading conservatoire located in Paris, Île-de-France, France. At the time of the school's foundation in 1919 by Auguste Mangeot, Alfred Cortot. The term ''école normale'' (Engl ...

, she is regularly invited to

master class A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...

es in Egypt, Morocco, China, Russia and Georgia. Her discography includes several recordings with

Gabriel Bacquier Gabriel Bacquier (; 17 May 1924 – 13 May 2020) was a French operatic baritone. One of the leading baritones of the 20th century and particularly associated with the French and Italian repertoires, he was considered a fine singing actor equ ...

(in particular the famous "duo de l'escarpolette" in Messager's '' Véronique''). On December 8, 2013, she performed, with

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thr ...

Mourad Amirkhanian Mourad Amirkhanian (born 6 July 1974) is an Armenian lyric artist residing in France, who has been performing under the name Adam Barro since 2015. Life Born in Gyumri, after his studies and specialization at the Higher Conservatory of Armenia, ...

and cellist

Dominique de Williencourt Dominique de Williencourt is a French cellist and composer, born in Lille in 1959. Works * ''Abraham and Isaac'', opus 7, for baritone, flute and string orchestra. First performed in the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris, February 2007 * ...

salle Gaveau The Salle Gaveau, named after the French piano maker Gaveau, is a classical concert hall in Paris, located at 45-47 rue La Boétie, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It is particularly intended for chamber music. Construction The plans for th ...

in Paris, at a recital entitled "Merci la France ! It is Armenia that remembers - 25 years later.... The earthquake in Armenia". In 2017, she was one of the founding members of the Inter Hallier Center.''Hallier ou l'Edernité en marche'',

Jean-Pierre Thiollet Jean-Pierre Thiollet (; born 9 December 1956) is a French writer and journalist. Primarily living in Paris, he is the author of numerous books and one of the national leaders of the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CEDI), a ...

, Neva éditions, 2018, .

Discography

*''Horizons lyriques'' - ''Live'' with Léo Schneydermann, piano. Works by

Francesco Paolo Tosti Sir Francesco Paolo Tosti KCVO (9 April 1846, Ortona, Abruzzo2 December 1916, Rome) was an Italian composer and music teacher. Life Francesco Paolo Tosti received most of his music education in his native Ortona, Italy, as well as the cons ...

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

Umberto Giordano Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano (28 August 186712 November 1948) was an Italian composer, mainly of operas. He was born in Foggia in Apulia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of Naples. His first opera, ''Marina ...

, Henri Duparc,

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

Franz Lehar Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see ...

- Maguelone, 2000

References

External links

Caroline Dumas
on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Caroline Dumas
on the website of the École Normale de Musique de Paris
Caroline Dumas - Bohème - G. Puccini
(YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dumas, Caroline Living people Musicians from Casablanca Conservatoire de Paris alumni French operatic sopranos Academic staff of the École Normale de Musique de Paris 1935 births 20th-century French women opera singers