Georgette Leblanc (8 February 1869,
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
– 27 October 1941,
Le Cannet
Le Cannet (; oc, Lo Canet; older it, Canneto) is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.
Administration
Le Cannet was part of Cannes until 1778, when it was made a separate commune.
Location
Le Cannet is locate ...
) 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 ...
,
actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...
,
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
, and the sister of novelist
Maurice Leblanc
Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc (; ; 11 December 1864 – 6 November 1941) was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French c ...
. She became particularly associated with the works of
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...
and was an admired interpreter of the title role in
Bizet
Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...
's ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
''.
For many years Leblanc was the lover of Belgian playwright and writer
Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...
, and he wrote several parts for her within his stage plays. She portrayed the role of Ariane in ''Ariane et Barbe-bleue'', both in the original 1899 stage play by Maeterlinck and in the
1907 opera adaptation by
Paul Dukas
Paul Abraham Dukas ( or ; 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His b ...
, as well as
La Mort de Tintagiles in 1905 in Paris. Leblanc also appeared in a couple of French films, most notably ''
L'Inhumaine
''L'Inhumaine'' ("the inhuman woman") is a 1924 French science fiction drama film directed by Marcel L'Herbier. It has the subtitle ''histoire féerique'' ("fairy story", "story of enchantment"). ''L'Inhumaine'' is notable for its experimental t ...
'' in 1924. In the last few decades of her life she turned to writing, producing two commercially successful autobiographies and several children's books and travelogues.
Biography
Georgette Leblanc was born into a cultured family that valued the arts of all forms and encouraged her to pursue music, acting, and writing. She initially worked for a short time as an actress on the Paris stage before studying music under
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...
in that city.
[Biography of Georgette Leblanc](_blank)
on Operissimo.com (in German); accessed 31 January 2009. She made her professional opera debut at the
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...
on 23 November 1893 as Françoise in
Alfred Bruneau
Louis Charles Bonaventure Alfred Bruneau (3 March 1857 – 15 June 1934) was a French composer who played a key role in the introduction of realism in French opera.
Life
Born in Paris, Bruneau studied the cello as a youth at the Paris Conservator ...
's ''
L'attaque du moulin
''L'attaque du moulin'' (''The Attack on the Mill'') is a ''drame lyrique'' (opera) in four acts by the French composer Alfred Bruneau. The libretto, by Louis Gallet with the collaboration of Émile Zola, is based on a short story by Zola (included ...
''. Shortly thereafter she returned to that opera house to sing the title role in
Bizet
Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...
's ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
''. In 1894 she joined the roster at the
Théâtre de la Monnaie
The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (french: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, italic=no, ; nl, Koninklijke Muntschouwburg, italic=no; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National O ...
where she sang numerous parts for the next three seasons, including: Anita in ''
La Navarraise
''La Navarraise'' (, "The Woman of Navarre") is an opera in two acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Jules Claretie and Henri Cain, based on Claretie's short story ''La cigarette'' (1890). It was first performed at Covent Garden in ...
'' and the title roles in both Massenet's ''
Thaïs
Thaïs or Thais ( el, Θαΐς; flourished 4th century BC) was a famous Greek ''hetaira'' who accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns. Likely from Athens, she is most famous for instigating the burning of Persepolis. At the time, Thaï ...
'' and ''Carmen'' once again.
[ Elizabeth Forbes: "Georgette Leblanc", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (accessed 30 January 2009)]
(subscription access)
In 1895, Leblanc met
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...
in Brussels with whom she began a 23-year romantic relationship.
That same year the couple moved to the district of
Passy
Passy () is an area of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is home to many of the city's wealthiest residents.
Passy was a commune on the outskirts of Paris. In 1658, hot springs were discovered around whic ...
in Paris, living together openly to the chagrin of their Catholic families. Leblanc had married a Spanish man a few years previously, and the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
refused to give her a
divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
from her unhappy marriage. The couple's home became a center for the artistic community with individuals like
Octave Mirbeau
Octave Mirbeau (16 February 1848 – 16 February 1917) was a French novelist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, journalist and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, whilst still appealing to the ...
,
Jean Lorrain
Jean Lorrain (9 August 1855 in Fécamp, Seine-Maritime – 30 June 1906), born Paul Alexandre Martin Duval, was a French poet and novelist of the Symbolist school.
Lorrain was a dedicated disciple of dandyism and spent much of his time amongs ...
, and
Paul Fort
Jules-Jean-Paul Fort (1 February 1872 – 20 April 1960) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. At the age of 18, reacting against the Naturalistic theatre, Fort founded the Théâtre d'Art (1890–93). He also founded and edi ...
frequently being entertained at their house. The couple also owned a home in
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
where they would go for the summers.
Beginning with ''Aglavaine and Sélysette'' in 1896, she began to appear in a number of Maeterlinck's plays, several of which included characters specifically written for or based on her. She also sang in a number of recitals and concerts in Paris that included German
lieder
In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French sp ...
by
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
and
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
that had been translated into French by Maeterlinck.
She remained active in opera in Paris, notably appearing as Fanny in Massenet’s ''
Sapho'' at the
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...
in 1897. She later recorded several arias from ''Sapho'' with the composer on the piano in 1903.
[Knapp, 87-92.]
Beginning in August 1893, Maeterlinck collaborated with
Claude Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
on the opera ''
Pelléas et Mélisande'', which was based on Maeterlinck's
play of the same name
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* Pla ...
. Leblanc was originally slated to perform the role of Mélisande in the opera's 1902 premiere, but she was replaced by
Mary Garden
A Mary garden is a small sacred garden enclosing a statue or shrine of the Virgin Mary, who is known to many Christians as the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady, or the Mother of God. In the New Testament, Mary is the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Mary ...
. This angered Maeterlinck, who threatened legal action and physical violence against Debussy for ousting his lover from the part. She did, however, originate the title role in the world premiere of
Paul Dukas
Paul Abraham Dukas ( or ; 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His b ...
's operatic adaptation of Maeterlinck's ''
Ariane et Barbe-bleue'' in 1907, having already portrayed Ariane in the original stage play in 1899 in Paris.
![Georgette Leblanc 1913](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Georgette_Leblanc_1913.png)
In 1906, Leblanc and Maeterlinck moved to a villa in
Grasse
Grasse (; Provençal dialect, Provençal oc, Grassa in classical norm or in Mistralian norm ; traditional it, Grassa) is the only Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence- ...
where their relationship began to experience difficulties. Maeterlinck became increasingly depressed and was eventually diagnosed with
neurasthenia
Neurasthenia (from the Ancient Greek νεῦρον ''neuron'' "nerve" and ἀσθενής ''asthenés'' "weak") is a term that was first used at least as early as 1829 for a mechanical weakness of the nerves and became a major diagnosis in North A ...
. He did however write several plays during this time, two of which, ''Marie-Victoire'' (1907) and ''
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...
'' (1910), had leading roles for Leblanc. In 1912-13, she sang at both the
Manhattan Opera House
The Manhattan Center is a building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1906 and located at 311 West 34th Street, it houses Manhattan Center Studios, the location of two recording studios; its Grand Ballroom; and the Hammerstein Ballroo ...
in New York and at the
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Principality of Monaco.
With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des ba ...
. She finally got to sing Mélisande in 1912 in its premiere in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
with the
Boston Opera Company
The Boston Opera Company (BOC) was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts, that was active from 1909 to 1915.
History
The company was founded in 1908 by Bostonian millionaire Eben Dyer Jordan, Jr. and impresario Henry Russel ...
, where she acted the part in the play and recorded four songs with
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
. In 1914, Leblanc and Maeterlinck left Grasse for a villa near
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
and the following year Leblanc portrayed the role of Lady Macbeth in a French film adaptation of
William Shakespear
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
''. The couple stayed together four more years, but the relationship ended in 1918 when it became clear that he was involved with another woman, the actress Renée Dahon.
[Knapp, pp. 129, 147-50.]
![Portrait photograph of Georgette Leblanc](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Portrait_photograph_of_Georgette_Leblanc.jpg)
After her relationship with Maeterlinck ended, Leblanc remained active on the stage within his plays throughout the 1920s, although her singing career was pretty much over.
She had a number of romantic relationships with high profile individuals during the 1920s and 1930s. For a brief time she was involved with Greco-Armenian mystic
G. I. Gurdjieff
George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (; rus, Гео́ргий Ива́нович Гурджи́ев, r=Geórgy Ivánovich Gurdzhíev, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪd͡ʑ ɡʊrd͡ʐˈʐɨ(j)ɪf; hy, Գեորգի Իվանովիչ Գյուրջիև; c. 1 ...
. She was also a close friend of fellow Gurdjieff student
Margaret Anderson. She continued to be popular among the Parisian artistic social circles and was notably friends with
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...
and
Marcel L'Herbier
Marcel L'Herbier (; 23 April 1888 – 26 November 1979) was a French filmmaker who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued unti ...
, in whose film ''
L'Inhumaine
''L'Inhumaine'' ("the inhuman woman") is a 1924 French science fiction drama film directed by Marcel L'Herbier. It has the subtitle ''histoire féerique'' ("fairy story", "story of enchantment"). ''L'Inhumaine'' is notable for its experimental t ...
'' (1924) she starred.
[Griffin, Gabriele. ''Who's Who in Lesbian and Gay Writing''. Routledge, 2002.]
In 1930, Leblanc published ''Souvenirs'' (1895–1918), an account of her liaison with Maeterlinck.
She also authored a further autobiography and several children's books and travelogues. She died at
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
,
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...
in 1941 and was buried in the Notre Dame des Anges Cemetery beside Margaret Anderson.
Works
*''Le Choix de la Vie'' (1904)
*''La Mort de Tintagiles'' (1905)
*''The Children's Bluebird'' (1913)
*''The Girl who Found the Blue Bird: A visit to
Helen Keller'' (1914)
*''Maeterlinck's Dogs (1919)
*''The Choice of Life'' (1927)
*''Souvenir'' (1931)
*''Souvenirs: My life with Maeterlinck'' (1932)
*''Story of the Blue Bird'' (1939)
*''La Machine à Courage'' (1947)
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Extracts from ''La Machine à Courage'', Leblanc's second volume of autobiography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leblanc, Georgette
1875 births
1941 deaths
Bisexual actresses
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French stage actresses
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LGBT singers from France
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Actors from Rouen
19th-century French actresses
20th-century French actresses
20th-century French writers
20th-century French women writers
French women memoirists
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