Fanély Revoil, born

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

25 September 1906, died Annonay 31 January 1999, was a French singer who had a major career in

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 libr ...

and operetta between the 1930s and 1989.’L'encyclopédie multimedia de la comédie musicale théâtrale en France (1918-1940)’ (http://comedie-musicale.jgana.fr/index.htm), accessed 22.03.10. She was married to theater director Robert Ancelin from 1937 to 1942.

Career

After starting work as a secretary Revoil followed courses in singing and acting at the Marseille Conservatoire, making her debut in Montpellier in 1928 in ''

Gillette de Narbonne ''Gillette de Narbonne'' is an ''opéra comique'' in three acts, with music by Edmond Audran and words by Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot. It is based on a fabliau from ''The Decameron'' and depicts a rejected bride posing as another woman to decei ...

'' (which also marked her farewell to the stage in 1957), then appeared in

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning '' mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace a ...

in '' Comtesse Maritza'', before joining the company in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

, singing in operettas from both the Paris and Vienna traditions (including the French premiere of ''Frasquita''), as well as in '' Carmen''.Gourret J. ''Dictionnaire des cantatrices de l'Opera de Paris.'' Editions Albatros, Paris, 1987. In 1933, she made her first appearances in Paris, at the

Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin The Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin is a venerable theatre and opera house at 18, Boulevard Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. History It was first built very rapidly in 1781 under the direction of (1726–1810) to house th ...

in small roles before creating Madame Dubarry in the French premiere of '' La Dubarry''. Following this success, others followed including Paris premieres of creations in ''Valses de Vienne'' (1933), '' Le Tzaréwitch'' (1935), ''Un coup de veine'' (1935), ''Au soleil du Mexique'' (1935) and ''La Belle traversée'' (1937). After the Porte Saint Martin she made her debut at the Opéra-Comique (creating the role of Lucine in '' Le testament de la tante Caroline''), and although never a member of the company she sang regularly with them for ten years, including Lazuli in '' L'étoile'', la Guimard in ''Fragonard'' and the title role in '' Ciboulette''. Revoil appeared many times at the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

, in ''Soleil du Mexique'', ''Nina Rosa'', ''

Rose-Marie ''Rose-Marie'' is an operetta-style musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The story is set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and concerns Rose-Marie La Flemme, a ...

'', and created the title role in ''La Maréchale sans-gêne'' there in 1948. At the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées she performed in the premiere of '' Virginie Dejazet'' in 1946. She made many foreign tours (Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, Britain) often alongside

Willy Clément Willy Clément (born in Cairo on 19 July 1918, died in Paris on 7 March 1965) was a French baritone who was noted in light baritone roles and operetta.Caubert A. Portrait - notes for INA memoire vive CD 064, Paris, 2006. Life and career Clément c ...

. After retiring from the stage she taught operetta singing at the

Paris Conservatoire 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 ...

Recordings and broadcasts

As well as the 1941 recording of excerpts from ''L'étoile'' under

Roger Désormière Roger Désormière () (13 September 1898 – 25 October 1963) was a French conductor. He was an enthusiastic champion of contemporary composers, but also conducted performances of early eighteenth century French music. Life and career Désormièr ...

and the complete 1948 recording of ''

The Tales of Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died i ...

'' under

André Cluytens André Cluytens (, ; born Augustin Zulma Alphonse Cluytens; 26 March 19053 June 1967)Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. was a Belgian-born French conductor who was active in the con ...

, Revoil sang in many French radio recordings of operettas and opéra-comiques during the 1950s, including several of ''

La Périchole ''La Périchole'' () is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the French libretto based on the 1829 one act play '' Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement'' by Prosper Mérimée, which was revived o ...

'',L'Avant-Scène Opéra, La Périchole - No 66, August 1984, p114. and appeared in the film ''Les deux gamines'' in 1936.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Revoil, Fanely 1906 births 1999 deaths Musicians from Marseille French operatic mezzo-sopranos 20th-century French women opera singers