Gabrielle Delphine Ugalde, née Beaucé (3 December 1829 – 19 July 1910), was 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 ...

and composer. She was the mother of

Marguerite Ugalde Marguerite Ugalde (née Marie Varcollier) (1862–1940) was a French mezzo-soprano. She was the daughter of the singer and theatre manager Delphine Ugalde.Forbes E. Delphine Ugalde. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, Lond ...

.E. Forbes: "Ugalde, Delphine", in: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' (London & New York: Macmillan, 1997).

Biography

Delphine Ugalde was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. After studies with her mother and the tenor Théodore-François Moreau-Sainti in Paris, she made her debut at the

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 1848 as Angèle in Auber’s ''

Le Domino noir ''Le domino noir'' (''The Black Domino'') is an ''opéra comique'' by the French composer Daniel Auber, first performed on 2 December 1837 by the Opéra-Comique at the Salle de la Bourse in Paris.Wild and Charlton (2005), p. 226. The libre ...

'', followed by ''

L'Ambassadrice ''L'ambassadrice'' is an opera or opéra comique in 3 acts by composer Daniel Auber. The work's French language libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. The opera's world premiere was staged by the Opéra-Co ...

''. She went on to create roles in several popular operas of the time including the title role in ''Galathée'' by

Victor Massé Victor Massé (born ''Félix-Marie Massé''; 7 March 1822 – 5 July 1884) was a French composer. Biography Massé was born in Lorient (Morbihan) and studied at the Paris Conservatoire, winning the Prix de Rome in 1844 for his cantata ''Le Rén� ...

on 14 April 1852, Virginie in ''

Le Caïd ''Le caïd'', also spelled ''Le kaïd'' (''The Qaid''), is a comic opera (' or ') in two acts composed by Ambroise Thomas to a libretto by Thomas Sauvage. It was premiered on 3 January 1849 by the Opéra-Comique at the second Salle Favart in Paris ...

'' by Thomas on 3 January 1849 and Coraline in ''

Le Toréador ''Le toréador, ou L'accord parfait'' (''The Toreador, or The Perfect Agreement'') is an ''opéra comique'' in two acts by the French composer Adolphe Adam with a libretto by Thomas-Marie-François Sauvage. It was first performed at the Opéra-C ...

'' on 18 May 1849. After a break, she returned for ''Psyché'' (Eros) by Thomas on 26 January 1857. She sang in Auber's '' L’Enfant prodigue'' in London in 1851. At the Paris Opéra she sang Alice in ''

Robert le diable ''Robert le diable'' (''Robert the Devil'') is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831, to a libretto written by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. ''Robert le diable'' is regarded as one of the first grand o ...

'' in 1851 and Leonora in ''

Il Trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

'' (1858). In 1858, she made her debut 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 ...

, where she sang Suzanne in '' Les Noces de Figaro'', Carabosse Mélodine in ''La Fée Carabosse'' by Massé (28 February 1859), Blondine in '' L'Enlèvement au Sérail'' (1859), Martine in ''Ma tante dort'' (21 Jan 1860), and the title role in ''Gil Blas'' (24 March 1860). Her final benefit performance on 14 May 1860 was a lavish affair with, as well as many popular singers, contributions from Massé,

Sarasate Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (; 10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908), commonly known as Pablo de Sarasate, was a Spanish (Navarrese) violin virtuoso, composer and conductor of the Romantic period. His best known works include ...

and

Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

. She returned briefly in 1865 to sing Papagena. In February 1861, Ugalde escaped a serious stage accident while singing in a performance of ''Le Caïd'' in

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens () is a Parisian theatre founded in 1855 by the composer Jacques Offenbach for the performance of opéra bouffe and operetta. The current theatre is located in the 2nd arrondissement at 4 rue Monsigny with an ...

(''

Orphée aux enfers ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act "opéra bouffon" at the Théât ...

'', ''

Les Bavards '' Les bavards'' (English: ''The Chatterboxes'') is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach, with a French libretto by Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter based on "Los dos habladores", a story by Miguel de Cervantes.Lamb A. Jacques Offenb ...

''), including her own operetta ''La Halte au moulin'' (1867), retired from the stage in 1871, but performed again in the sole role of her comic opera ''Seule'' in 1873. Ugalde took over the direction of the Bouffes-Parisiens in 1885 and for her first production – ''

La Béarnaise La Béarnaise is an opéra comique in three acts of 1885, with music by André Messager and a French libretto by Eugène Leterrier and Albert Vanloo. Wagstaff J. André Messager. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New ...

'' by Messager – brought

Jeanne Granier Jeanne Granier (31 March 1852 – 18 or 19 December 1939) was a French soprano, born and died in Paris, whose career was centred on the French capital.Gänzl K. Jeanne Granier. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and ...

out of semi-retirement for the double part of Jacquette/Jacquet.A. Vanloo: ''Sur le plateau: Souvenirs d'une librettiste'' (Paris, 1913). Among her pupils were her daughter

and Marie Sass. Ugalde died in Paris.

Compositions

Operas * ''La Halte au moulin''. Opéra comique en 1 acte (Constant Jardry), Paris: E. Gérard et Cie., 1868. See vocal score a
Gallica
* ''Seule''. Opéra comique à un seul personnage, chanté par Mme Ugalde (

Francis Tourte Louis François, better known as Francis Tourte, (8 June 1816 – 5 October 1891) was a 19th-century French composer, poet, chansonnier and playwright. He was François Tourte's grandson. He wrote lyrics for more than 500 songs and melodies, wh ...

), Paris: A. O'Kelly, 1873. Vocal music * ''Vingt Mélodies'' (Adrien Dézamy), Paris:

Louis Gregh Louis Charles Félix François Gregh (16 March 1843 – 21 January 1915) was a French composer and music publisher. Life Gregh was born in Philippeville, now Skikda, Algeria. His family was of Malta, Maltese origin. As a composer, he wrote operett ...

, 1878. * ''L'Elève de St Cyr'' (

Eugène Leterrier Eugène Leterrier (1843 – 22 December 1884 in Paris) was a French librettist. Leterrier worked at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris but then turned to the theatre. He mainly collaborated in writing libretti with Albert Vanloo. Their working relatio ...

Albert Vanloo Albert Vanloo (; Brussels, 10 September 1846 – 1920, Paris) was a Belgium, Belgian librettist and playwright. Vanloo lived in Paris as a child and was attracted to the theatre. As a young student he began writing plays and opéra comique libret ...

), Paris: Enoch frères et Costallat, 1882. * ''Le Bal des roses''. Rondeau (M. Klanko), Paris: Choudens fils, 1889. * ''Tantum ergo'' (bibl.), Paris: Choudens fils, 1889. * ''Les Sabots''. Chansonnette (A. Robbé, A. Larsonneur), Paris: E. Benoit, 1892. Piano music * ''Deux Polkas brillantes'', Paris: Au Ménestrel, Henri Heugel, 1851.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ugalde, Delphine 1829 births 1910 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French composers 19th-century French women singers 19th-century women composers French women classical composers French operatic sopranos French theatre directors French women theatre directors Musicians from Paris Opera managers