Geneviève Vix (née Brouwer, December 31, 1879 – August 25, 1939) was a French soprano. She was a descendant of the Dutch painter

Adriaen Brouwer Adriaen Brouwer (, in Oudenaarde – January 1638, in Antwerp) was a Flemish painter active in Flanders and the Dutch Republic in the first half of the 17th century.

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 ...

as a pupil of Lhérie where she won the first prize for opera in 1904 (as well as second prize for opéra comique). She made her debut at the Palais Garnier on 27 January 1905 in the title role in the premiere of ''Daria'' by Georges Marty, following this with Marguerite in ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

'', Mélisse in '' Armide'', and Juliette in '' Roméo et Juliette''. Vix made her debut at the Opéra-Comique on 27 September 1906 as ''Louise'', and was a member of the company for six seasons, creating the roles of Concepción in ''

L'heure espagnole ''L'heure espagnole'' is a French one-act opera from 1911, described as a ''comédie musicale'', with music by Maurice Ravel to a French libretto by Franc-Nohain, based on Franc-Nohain's 1904 play ('comédie-bouffe') of the same nameStoullig E. '' ...

'' in 1911 and Francesca in ''Francesca da Rimini'' (Leoni) in 1913. She also sang in '' Manon'' (title role), ''Carmen'', ''Don Giovanni'' (Elvira), ''Tosca'', ''La Traviata'', ''Werther'' and ''Cendrillon'' at the Salle Favart. On 21 February 1908 she sang Geneviève in a revival of ''

Geneviève de Brabant ''Geneviève de Brabant'' is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1859. The plot is based on the medieval legend of Genevieve of Brabant. For the 1867 version two additional characters, men-at-arms, ...

'' at the

Théâtre des Variétés The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974. History It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoiselle ...

, Paris.

Vix later enjoyed an international career with appearances in Madrid, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, Havana, Chicago, New York, Boston, Rome, Cairo and Constantinople, adding Sapho, Salomé, Mélisande and Thaïs to her repertoire. In her later career Vix sang in lighter stage works in Paris, creating the title role in the revised version of ''Lais ou La Courtisane amoureuse'' by

Charles Cuvillier Charles Cuvillier (24 April 1877 – 14 February 1955) was a French composer of operetta. He won his greatest successes with the operettas ''La reine s'amuse'' (1912, played as ''The Naughty Princess'' in London) and with '' The Lilac Domino'', ...

in 1929 and La Duchesse de Mazarin in ''Florestan 1er, prince de Monaco'' by Heymann in 1933. She retired from the stage in 1935, and died in Paris. She recorded airs from ''Carmen'', ''Tosca'', and ''Werther''. Her first marriage was to M. Muller de Cordevart (ended in divorce); the second to Kirill Vasil'evich Naryshkin (15 February 1877 – 25 October 1950) at

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...

on 2 October 1921. He was the son of Vasilii L'vovich Naryshkin and Princess Fevronia Pavlovna Jambakurian-Orbeliani, and had previously been married to Vera Sergeevna Witte (née Lisanevich), the adopted step-daughter of the Russian prime minister Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte. Vix was also the sometime mistress of King Alfonso XIII of Spain.: "Among them are Alphonse XIII and his mistress the singer Geneviève Vix who will help him choosing jewels for his wife !"
Eliane Georges. Histoire de Mode - Van Cleef & Arpels, cent ans de féérie.
She is buried at the

Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery (french: Cimetière russe de Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois) is part of the ''Cimetière de Liers'' and is called the Russian Orthodox cemetery, in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, Paris, France. History The ...

near Paris.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vix, Genevieve 1879 births 1939 deaths 20th-century French women opera singers

Life and career

References