Françoise Journet (born

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, died

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 ...

1720) was a French

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic

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 ...

. Beginning her career at the Lyon Opera, Journet eventually became a pupil of

Marie Le Rochois Marie Le Rochois (c. 1658 – 8 October 1728) was a French operatic soprano who belonged to the Académie Royale de Musique. She is often referred to as Marthe Le Rochois or simply La Rochois. Opera career She was introduced to Jean-Baptiste Lu ...

in Paris. In 1699 she appeared as Mélisse in the premiere of ''Amadis de Gréce'' by Destouches and subsequently created a number of important roles in operas by

Marin Marais Marin Marais (; 31 May 1656, in Paris – 15 August 1728, in Paris) was a French composer and viol player. He studied composition with Jean-Baptiste Lully, often conducting his operas, and with master of the bass viol Monsieur de Sainte-Colomb ...

and Campra. She also sang in revivals of the operas of

Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...

and others. Her successor, in many of her roles, was

Marie Antier Marie Antier (1687, in Lyon – 3 December 1747, in Paris) was a French opera singer ( soprano). She was trained in singing and acting by Marthe Le Rochois. She made her debut at the Paris Opera in a revival of ''La vénitienne'' by Michel de la ...

. A full-length portrait of Journet as Iphigénie was painted by

Jean Raoux Jean Raoux (1677 – 10 February 1734), French painter, was born at Montpellier. After the usual course of training he became a member of the Academy in 1717 as an historical painter. His reputation had been previously established by the ...

Roles created

*Mélisse in

André Cardinal Destouches André Cardinal Destouches (sometimes called des Touches) (baptised 6 April 1672 – 7 February 1749) was a French composer best known for the ''opéra-ballet'' ''Les élémens''. Biography Born in Paris, the son of Étienne Cardinal, a ...

's ''Amadis de Gréce'' (Paris, 1699) *The title role in

André Campra André Campra (; baptized 4 December 1660 – 29 June 1744) was a French composer and conductor of the Baroque era. The leading French opera composer in the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau, Campra wrote several '' tra ...

's ''

Iphigénie en Tauride ''Iphigénie en Tauride'' (, ''Iphigenia in Tauris'') is a 1779 opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck in four acts. It was his fifth opera for the French stage. The libretto was written by Nicolas-François Guillard. With ''Iphigénie,'' Gluck took ...

'' (Paris, 1704) *The title role in

's ''

Sémélé is an opera by Marin Marais with a libretto by Antoine Houdar de la Motte first performed on 9 April 1709, by the Paris Opera at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. The opera is in the form of a ''tragédie en musique'' with a prologue and five acts. ...

'' (Paris, 1709) *Isabelle in Campra's ''

Les fêtes vénitiennes ''Les festes vénitiennes'' ("Venetian Festivities"), also spelled ''Les fêtes vénitiennes'', is an ''opéra-ballet'' by the French composer André Campra. It consists of a prologue (later sometimes omitted, abridged or replaced) and three ''en ...

'' (Paris, 1710) *The title role in Destouches's ''

Callirhoé ''Callirhoé'' is an opera by the French composer André Cardinal Destouches. It takes the form of a ''tragédie en musique'' in a prologue and five acts. The libretto, by Pierre-Charles Roy, is based on a story from ''The Description of Greece'' ...

'' (Paris, 1712) *Ilione in Campra's ''

Idoménée ''Idoménée'' (English: ''Idomeneus'') is an opera by the French composer André Campra. It takes the form of a ''tragédie en musique'' in a prologue and five acts. ''Idoménée'' was first performed on 12 January 1712 by the Académie royale de ...

'' (Paris, 1712)

Sources

*Weller, Philip (1992), 'Journet, Françoise' in ''The

New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London) *Butin, Jean (2000), ''Ces Lyonnaises qui ont marqué leur temps'', Editions Lyonnaises d'Art et d'Histoire (Lyon) French operatic sopranos 1720 deaths Year of birth unknown {{France-opera-singer-stub