Cécile Thévenet (born November 22, 1872) was a Belgian opera singer.
Early life
![CecileThevenet1905b](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/CecileThevenet1905b.jpg)
Cécile Thévenet was born in
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
, the daughter of Alphonse Thévenet and Anne Van Vyve. Her father was a music teacher and baritone singer. She was raised and educated in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
.
Her brothers Pierre Thévenet (1870-1937) and (1874-1930) became painters.
Career
Cécile Thévenet sang with 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 ...
in Paris. "Alike as a singer and an actress Mlle. Thévenet is a very great artist, a wonderfully clever creator of the characters she represents", commented one American publication in 1905.
In 1913 she sang the part of
Euryclea
In Greek mythology, Eurycleia (Ancient Greek: Εὐρύκλεια ''Eurýkleia''), or Euryclea (; also known as Antiphata (Ἀντιφάτη ''Antipháte'') in other traditions), is the daughter of Ops and granddaughter of Peisenor, as well as th ...
in the premiere 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 ...
's ''
Pénélope
''Pénélope'' is an opera in three acts by the French composer Gabriel Fauré. The libretto, by René Fauchois is based on Homer's ''Odyssey''. It was first performed at the Salle Garnier, Monte Carlo on 4 March 1913. The piece is dedicated to ...
'' in Paris, with
Lucienne Bréval
Lucienne Bréval (4 November 1869 – 15 August 1935) was a Swiss dramatic soprano who had a major international opera career from 1892 to 1918. Although she appeared throughout Europe and in the United States, Bréval spent most of her career p ...
in the title role. She was also in the original cast of the
Gustave Charpentier
Gustave Charpentier (; 25 June 1860 – 18 February 1956) was a French composer, best known for his opera '' Louise''.Langham Smith R., "Gustave Charpentier", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.
Life and c ...
opera ''
Julien
Julien may refer to:
People
* Julien (given name)
* Julien (surname)
Music
* Julien (opera), ''Julien'' (opera), a 1913 poème lyrique by Gustave Charpentier
* Julien (album), ''Julien'' (album), by Dalida, 1973
* Julien (song), "Julien" (so ...
'', in 1913. She was known for her performances of ''
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 ...
''.
Other roles Thévenet sang included Musette in
Leoncavallo
Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo ( , , ; 23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs throughout his career it is his opera ''Pagliacci'' (1892) that remained his ...
's ''
La bohéme'' (1899), Leoncavallo's ''Zaza'' (1900), Caroline in ''
Die Fledermaus
' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874.
Background
The original ...
'' (1904), ''La Chouanne'' (1907), the Nurse in
Paul Dukas
Paul Abraham Dukas ( or ; 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His b ...
's ''
Ariane et Barbe-bleue'' (1910), and
Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884) ...
's ''
Thérèse'' (1913).
Personal life
Thévenet died after May 1914.
References
External links
A photograph of Cécile Thévenet as Musettein ''La boheme'' (1900), at
Getty Images
Getty Images Holdings, Inc. is an American visual media company and is a supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three markets— creative ...
.
A photograph of Thévenet as Carolinein ''Die fledermaus'' (1904), at Getty Images.
A photograph of Thévenet as Catherinein ''Le chemineau'' (1907), at Getty Images.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thévenet, Cécile
1872 births
Belgian opera singers
Musicians from Bruges
Year of death missing