Jeanne Albertine Germaine Bailac de Boria (28 March 1881 – 12 October 1977) was a French

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

opera singer and voice teacher. After studying at the Toulouse and Paris conservatoires, she made her début at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

in August 1907 in the title role of '' Samson et Dalila''. In May 1908, she performed in the world premiere of Isaac de Camondo's ''Le Clown'' 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 ...

. She subsequently appeared in various roles, in particular Bizet'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 Paris and the provinces. In later life she taught voice at the Toulouse Conservatoire.

Early life

Born in Toulouse on 28 March 1881, Jeanne Albertine Germaine Bailac was the daughter of the Spanish-born violinist Frédéric Bailac and his Algerian-born wife Adelaïde Clotilde Armand. She studied the piano for many years before developing her voice. After

Pedro Gailhard Pedro or Pierre Gailhard, full name Pierre Samson Gailhard, (1 August 1848 – 12 October 1918) was a French opera singer and theatre director. Gifted with an exceptional singing bass voice, Pedro Gailhard made his debut at the Opéra-Comique i ...

heard her singing at a recital in

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...

around 1902, he advised her to attend the . She continued her voice training at the Conservatoire de Paris.

Career

Shortly after winning the first prize at the

, she was engaged by Gailhard of the

to sing the title role in ''Samson et Dalila'' by Saint-Saëns in August 1907. Her début received enthusiastic support, both for her voice and her performance as a dramatic actress. She was immediately considered to be among the most competent contraltos. In 1911, she appeared at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in the premiere of the last opera by Saint-Saëns, '' Déjanire''. She created the role of Phenice, giving a "remarkable performance". From May 1908, Bailac sang at the Opéra-Comique. Making a successful début in Isaac de Camondo's ''Clown'', she went on to take the title role in Bizet's ''Carmen'', Charlotte in Gounod's '' Werther'', Margared in Lalo's '' Le roi d'Ys'' and Madame de la Haltère in Massenet's ''

Cendrillon ''Cendrillon'' (''Cinderella'') is an opera—described as a "fairy tale"—in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn based on Perrault's 1698 version of the Cinderella fairy tale. It had its premiere performance on 24 ...

''. She later performed in operas at Vichy's Grand Casino and in other provincial venues. She spent the last twenty years of her singing career at the Monte Carlo Opera. Bailac retired from the stage in September 1941. She is remembered in particular for performing as Carmen some 3,000 times. She continued her career as a voice teacher at the Toulouse Conservatoire. Germaine Bailac died in Paris on 12 October 1977.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailac, Germaine 1881 births 1977 deaths 20th-century French women opera singers 20th-century French women pianists Actresses from Toulouse French operatic mezzo-sopranos Operatic contraltos Voice teachers 20th-century women pianists