Caroline Girard (7 April 1830)Kutsch & Riemens 2003, p. 1741. was a French operatic Mezzo-soprano. She was the mother of

Juliette Simon-Girard Juliette-Joséphine Simon-Girard (8 May 1859 – 1954) was a French soprano, principally in operetta.Gänzl K. Juliette Simon-Girard. In: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. Her father, , was an actor at the ...

Walsh TJ Thomas Joseph Walsh (20 November 1911 – 8 November 1988) was an Irish doctor, writer, and founder and director of the Wexford Opera Festival.Boydell, B.: "Walsh, T(homas) J(oseph)", in: '' New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' (London and New York: ...

. ''Second Empire Opera – The Théâtre-Lyrique Paris 1851-1870.'' John Calder Ltd, London, 1981.

Career

Girard was born in Paris and studied at the

Paris Conservatory 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 became a principal singer at the

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien). The company was founded in 1847 as the Opéra-N ...

in Paris in 1853, creating many roles including Margot in ''Le diable à quatre'' by Solié/Adam in 1853, Columbine in ''

Le tableau parlant ''Le tableau parlant'' (''The Talking Picture'') is an opéra comique, described as a ''comédie-parade'', in one act by André Grétry, The French libretto was by Louis Anseaume. Performance history It was first performed on 20 September 1769 by ...

'' by Grétry in 1854, Nancy/Aenchen in ''

Robin des Bois ''Robin des Bois'' (full title ''Robin des Bois: Ne renoncez jamais'') is a French musical with mise en scène by Michel Laprise and text and music by Patrice Guirao and Lionel Florence. It premiered on 26 September 2013 at Palais des congrès ...

'' by Weber in 1855, Pétronille in ''Le sourd ou l’auberge pleine'' by Adam in 1856, Antonio in '' Richard Coeur-de-lion'' by Grétry in 1856, Fatime in ''

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fair ...

'' by Weber in 1857, Barbarina in '' Les noces de Figaro'' in 1858, Florette in ''Les rosières'' by Hérold in 1860 and Papillon/Despina in '' Peines d’amours perdues'' by Mozart/Shakespeare in 1863. Moving in 1863 to the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

, where she was described as a '

dugazon Jean-Henri Gourgaud (15 November 1746 – 19 October 1809) was a French actor under the stage name Dugazon, the son of Pierre-Antoine Gourgaud, the director of military hospitals there and also an actor. He began his career in the provinces, ma ...

', she made her debut there as Lucette in ''La fausse magie'' on 16 July 1863.Soubies A, Malherbe C. Histoire de l'opéra comique — La seconde salle Favart 1840–1887. Flammarion, Paris, 1893. She took part in the premieres of ''Les Bourguignonnes'' in 1863, ''Sylvie'' (1864) in the title role, ''Les absents'' (1864), ''Fils du brigadier'' (1867) as l'hôtelière Catellna, ''

La grand'tante ''La grand'tante'' (The great-aunt) is an opéra comique in one act by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Jules Adenis and Charles Grandvallet. It was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 April 1867. Though not the first opera ...

'' (1867) as La Chevrette, ''

Robinson Crusoé ''Robinson Crusoé '' is an opéra comique with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Eugène Cormon and Hector-Jonathan Crémieux. It premiered in Paris on 23 November 1867. The writers took the theme from the 1719 novel ''Robinson Crusoe'' b ...

'' (1867) as Suzanne, and ''

La fille du tambour-major ''La fille du tambour-major'' (''The Drum Major's Daughter'') is an opéra comique in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot. It was one of the composer's last works, premiered less than a year befor ...

'' (1879) as the Duchesse Della Volta (where she also appeared with her daughter and son-in-law).Wolff, Stéphane. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique 1900–1950.'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953. At the Bouffes Parisiens she created the role of Léona in '' Maître Péronilla'' in 1878. Her other roles at the Salle Favart included Nicette in ''

Le Pré aux clercs ''Le pré aux clercs'' (''The Clerks' Meadow'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Ferdinand Hérold with a libretto by François-Antoine-Eugène de Planard based on Prosper Mérimée's ''Chronique du temps de Charles IX'' of 1829.Pougin A. H ...

'', Suzette in ''Marie'', Mazet in ''

La Colombe ''La Colombe'' (''The Dove'') is an ''opéra comique'' in two acts by Charles Gounod with a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré based on the poem ''Le Faucon'' by Jean de la Fontaine. It premiered in a one-act version at the Theater der St ...

'', Babel in le Nouveau Seigneur du village, Madeleine in ''

Le postillon de Lonjumeau ''Le postillon de Lonjumeau'' (''The Postillion of Lonjumeau'') is an opéra-comique in three acts by Adolphe Adam to a French libretto by Adolphe de Leuven and Léon Lévy Brunswick. The opera has become the most successful of Adam's works, a ...

'', and in 1868 she recreated the role of Georgette in ''Les dragons de Villars''. On 24 August 1863, she sang in the cantata ''Après la victoire'' by Lefébure-Wély at the Opéra-Comique.

Roles created at Théâtre Lyrique

*Lisbeth in ''La fille invisible'' by Boieldieu, 1854 *Simonette in ''La promise'' by Clapisson, 1854 *Olivette in ''Schahabaham II'' by Gautier in 1854 *Christine in ''Le roman de la rose'' by Pascal in 1854 *Ines in ''Une nuit à Séville'' by Barbier in 1855 *Don Luiz in ''Les lavandières de Santarem'' by Gevaert in 1855 *Georgette in ''

Les dragons de Villars ''Les dragons de Villars'' (''The Dragoons of Villars'') is an opéra-comique in three acts by Aimé Maillart to a libretto by Lockroy and Eugène Cormon. The story of the opera was said to have been borrowed from ''La Petite Fadette'' by George ...

'' by Maillart in 1856 *Inésille in ''Les nuits d’Espagne'' by Semet in 1857 *Nanette in ''Margot'' by Clapisson in 1857 *Jacqueline in ''

Le médecin malgré lui ''Le Médecin malgré lui'' (; "The doctor/physician in spite of himself") is a farce by Molière first presented in 1666 (published as a manuscript in early 1667) at le théâtre du Palais-Royal by la Troupe du Roi. The play is one of sever ...

'' by Gounod in 1858 *Myrtille in ''L’agneau de Chloe'' by Montaubry in 1858 * Lulli, (

breeches role A breeches role (also pants role or trouser role, or Hosenrolle) is one in which an actress appears in male clothing. Breeches, tight-fitting knee-length pants, were the standard male garment at the time these roles were introduced. The theatric ...

) in ''Les petits violons du roi'' by

Louis Deffès file:Rue Peyrolières - no 54 - maison natale de Louis Deffès.jpg, Pierre Louis Deffès (25 July 1819 – 28 May 1900) was a 19th-century French composer. He excelled as a composer of both operas and large-scale sacred music. Life Deffès was ...

in 1859 *Laure in ''Gil Blas'' by Semet in 1860 *Le Baron de Gonesse/Louis XV in ''Le café du roi'' by Deffès in 1861 *Title role in ''L’ondine'' by Semet in 1863

References

Notes Sources *

Kutsch, K. J. Karl-Josef Kutsch, also known as K. J. Kutsch, (born 11 May 1924) is a German physician and co-author with Leo Riemens of the ''Großes Sängerlexikon'', the standard reference for opera singers. Life and work Born in Gangelt, Kutsch studied me ...

and

Riemens, Leo Leonardus Antony Marinus Riemens (3 December 1910 – 3 April 1985) was a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist. He wrote a book about Maria Callas, and together with Karl-Josef Kutsch began a reference book about opera singers in 1962, which ...

(2003). ''

Großes Sängerlexikon ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The first ...

'' (fourth edition, in German). Munich: K. G. Saur. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Girard, Caroline Singers from Paris 1832 births Conservatoire de Paris alumni French operatic sopranos Year of death missing