Geneviève-Aimé-Zoë Prévost (15 April 1802, Paris – 10 April 1861, Paris) was a French operatic soprano. She created leading roles in some of the most notable French opéras comiques of the first half of the nineteenth century, including "

Fra Diavolo Fra Diavolo (lit. Brother Devil; 7 April 1771–11 November 1806), is the popular name given to Michele Pezza, a famous guerrilla leader who resisted the French occupation of Naples, proving an "inspirational practitioner of popular insurrect ...

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Daniel Auber Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire. Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally when ...

and "

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, ...

" by

Adolphe Adam Adolphe Charles Adam (; 24 July 1803 – 3 May 1856) was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets ''Giselle'' (1841) and '' Le corsaire'' (1856), his operas '' Le po ...

Career

Geneviève-Aimé-Zoë Prévost, also known as Zoé Prévost, had a younger brother, Eugene, who was a composer and conductor. Zoé studied 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 ...

and made her debut at the Opéra-Comique, Paris, in 1821. The Opéra-Comique at that time presented operas light in tone and with spoken dialogue between the musical numbers. She created leading roles in many opéras comiques including the title role in " La marquise de Brinvilliers", a collaborative work between nine composers, and in works by

Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera ''La Juive''. Early career Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...

Ambroise Thomas Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (; 5 August 1811 – 12 February 1896) was a French composer and teacher, best known for his operas '' Mignon'' (1866) and ''Hamlet'' (1868). Born into a musical family, Thomas was a student at the Conservatoire de ...

, and others. Considered one of the major stars of the lyric stage of her day, Prévost was esteemed for her unaffected stage presence, her charm of person and manner, her skills as a comic actress, and her excellent singing technique. She created the leading soprano roles in two opéras comiques still performed today, Zerlina in "

" by Auber in 1830 and Madeleine in "

" by Adam in 1836, the most successful works of those two composers. In the latter work, as in others, she appeared opposite her husband, leading tenor Jean-Baptiste Chollet, by whom she had one daughter, Caroline, who also achieved success as a singer under the stage name Mademoiselle Monrose. Geneviève-Aimé-Zoë Prévost also appeared in other French and Belgian opera houses.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prévost, Geneviève-Aimé-Zoë 1802 births 1861 deaths Conservatoire de Paris alumni French operatic sopranos 19th-century French women opera singers