Hariclea Darclée (née Haricli; later Hartulari; 10 June 1860 – 12 January 1939) was a celebrated

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n operatic spinto soprano of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

descent who had a three-decade-long career. Darclée's repertoire ranged from

coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano () is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile run (music), runs, leaps and Trill (music), trills. The term ''coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, whi ...

roles to heavier Verdi roles, including many in the Franco-Italian lyric repertory. Throughout her career she participated in several world premieres, creating the title roles in

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...

's ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'',

Pietro Mascagni Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece '' Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ...

's '' Iris'', and Alfredo Catalani's '' La Wally''. Puccini reportedly considered her to have been "the most beautiful and exquisite Manon". Enciclopedia dello Spettacolo, regarded as the most comprehensive international performing arts encyclopedia, named Darclée "world's greatest singer for 25 years". Darclée was considered the equivalent, in the opera world, of

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

Early years

Darclée was born Hariclea Haricli in

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2021 Romanian ...

to a family with

roots. Her father, Ion Haricli, was a landlord in

Teleorman County Teleorman County () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the historical region Muntenia, with its capital city at Alexandria. The name ''Teleorman'' is of Cumanic ( Turkic) origin. It literally means ''wild/crazy for ...

. Her mother, Maria Aslan, was a relative of the noble

Mavrocordatos family The House of Mavrokordatos (), variously also Mavrocordato, Mavrocordatos, Mavrocordat, Mavrogordato or Maurogordato, is the name of a family of Phanariotes, Phanariot Greeks originally from Chios, in which a branch rose to a princely rank and was ...

. The family lived for a while in the town of Turnu Măgurele in southern Romania. She began her studies at Conservatoire of music in Iași, making her professional appearances as a concert performer in 1884.

Career

She continued her studies in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

under Jean-Baptiste Faure. She married a young officer, Iorgu Hartulari, and became known for a while as Hariclea Hartulari-Darclée, Darclée being the ''nom de théâtre'' she adopted when she made her debut at the

Paris Opéra 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 kn ...

in 1888 as Marguerite in

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's ''

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

''. In 1889, she replaced

Adelina Patti Adelina Patti (19 February 184327 September 1919) was a Spanish-Italian opera singer. At the height of her career, she was earning huge fees performing in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851, a ...

as Juliette in Gounod's '' Roméo et Juliette'', to increasing acclaim. In 1890, Darclée scored a great success in her

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

debut as Chimène in

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...

’s '' Le Cid'', and was immediately engaged by all the leading Italian theatres. Highlights of her later career in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

from 1890 on included the world-premières of the part of Odalea in Antônio Carlos Gomes' ''Condor'' at La Scala in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in 1891, the title-role in Alfredo Catalani's '' La Wally'' at the same theater in 1892, Luisa in

's '' I Rantzau'' at the Teatro della Pergola in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

in 1892, and the title roles in

's '' Iris'' and

's ''

'', both at Teatro Costanzi in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1899 and 1900, respectively. Between 1893 and 1910 she appeared frequently in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, and

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. She was very popular in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, where she participated in many local premières of new operas by Puccini, Mascagni, and Massenet. Among the many roles she portrayed are Gilda in ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'', Ophélie in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'', Valentine in ''

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history '' ...

'', Violetta in '' La traviata'', Desdemona in ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...

'', Mimì in ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'', Santuzza in ''

Cavalleria Rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; ) is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 Cavalleria rusticana (short story), short story of the same name and subsequent ...

'', and the title roles in '' Manon'', '' Manon Lescaut'', ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'', and ''

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 novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

''. The last performance of her career was as Juliette in '' Roméo et Juliette'' at the Teatro Lirico in Milan in 1918.buna

Personal life

Darclée's son was composer (1886–1969), who was known particularly as a writer of

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s. Both she and her son are interred in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

's Bellu Cemetery.

Legacy

The 1961 Romanian film Darclee, directed by Mihai Iacob and starring , is based on her life story. Started in 1995, the ''Hariclea Darclée'' Festival and International Voice Competition is held every two years in Brăila.

Repertory

Hariclea Darclée sang 58 roles on 56 operas (32 operas of tradition, 12 in absolute première, and 16 operas in important premières) by 31 composers (12 composers of the tradition and 19 young composers with new operas interpreted in absolute première); this artist occupies a singular position in the universal history of the opera: *

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 whe ...

''La Muette de Portici'' (Luisa). *

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, 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'', w ...

''Carmen'' (Carmen). *

Arrigo Boito Arrigo Boito (; born Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito; 24 February 1842 10 June 1918) was an Italian librettist, composer, poet and critic whose only completed opera was ''Mefistofele''. Among the operas for which he wrote the libretto, libretti ar ...

''Mefistofele'' (Margherita). * Alfredo Catalani ''La Wally'' (Wally) – opera composed for her voice and interpreted in prima assoluta at Teatro alla Scala of Milan on 20 January 1892. *Alexis Catargi ''Enoch Arden'' (Ammie Lee) – opera composed for her voice and interpreted in prima assoluta at the

National Theatre Bucharest The National Theatre Bucharest () is one of the national theatres of Romania, located in the capital city of Bucharest. Founding It was founded as the ''Teatrul cel Mare din București'' ("Grand Theatre of Bucharest") in 1852, its first director ...

in 1904. * Isidore De Lara ''Amy Robsart'' (Amy Robsart) – opera composed for her voice and interpreted in prima assoluta at Montecarlo Opera in April 1897. *

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''be ...

''Don Pasquale'' (Norina). *Gaetano Donizetti ''L’elisir d’amore'' (Adina). *Gaetano Donizetti ''Linda di Chamounix'' (Linda). *Gaetano Donizetti ''Lucrezia Borgia'' (Lucrezia). *Gaetano Donizetti ''Maria di Rohan'' (Maria). * Alberto Franchetti ''Cristoforo Colombo'' (Isabella di Aragona, Ikuamota) – opera composed for her voice and interpreted in prima assoluta at

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, on 6 October 1892. *

Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka ( rus, links=no, Михаил Иванович Глинка, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, mʲɪxɐˈil ɨˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲinkə, Ru-Mikhail-Ivanovich-Glinka.ogg; ) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognit ...

''Ivan Susanin'' (Vania) – opera interpreted in première for France, at

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionAntônio Carlos Gomes ''Condor'' (Odalea) – opera composed for her voice and interpreted in prima assoluta at Teatro alla Scala of Milan on 21 February 1891; *Antônio Carlos Gomes ''Il Guarany'' (Cecilia). *

''Faust'' (Marguérite). *Charles Gounod ''Roméo et Juliette'' (Juliette). * Fromental Halévy ''La Juive'' (Rachèle). *

Ruggero Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo (23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Throughout his career, Leoncavallo produced numerous operas and songs but it is his 1892 opera ''Pagliacci'' that remained his lasting co ...

'' Pagliacci'' (Nedda) – opera interpreted in première for Romania at Bucharest National Theatre in 1903. *Ruggero Leoncavallo ''Zaza'' (Zaza). * Luigi Mancinelli ''Ero e Leandro'' (Ero) – opera composed for her voice and interpreted in prima assoluta at Madrid, in 1897. *

''Cavalleria rusticana'' (Santuzza) – opera interpreted in première for Romania at Bucharest National Theatre in 1891. *Pietro Mascagni ''L’amico Fritz'' (Suzel) – opera interpreted in première for Teatro Della Pergole of Florence in 1891 and for Bucharest National Theatre in 1910. *Pietro Mascagni ''Iris'' (Iris) – opera composed for her voice and interpreted in prima assoluta at Teatro dell’Opera of Rome, on 22 January 1898, in première for Teatro alla Scala di Milano on 19 January 1899 and in première for Bucharest National Theatre in 1908. *Pietro Mascagni ''I Rantzau'' (Luisa) – opera composed for her voice and interpreted in prima assoluta at Teatro delle Pergole of Florence on 10 November 1892 and in première for Teatro dell’Opera of Rome on 26 November 1892. *

''Le Cid'' (Chimène) – the debut in Italy and the première for Teatro alla Scala of Milan on 26 December 1890. *Jules Massenet ''Manon'' (Manon). *Jules Massenet ''Thaïs'' (Thaïs). *

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart and Richard Wa ...

''L’Africaine'' (Selika). *Giacomo Meyerbeer ''Les Huguénots'' (Regina, Valentine) – the première for Romania at Bucharest National Theatre in 1897. *

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

''Don Giovanni'' (Zerlina). *

Giovanni Pacini Giovanni Pacini (11 February 17966 December 1867) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas. The fam ...

'' Saffo'' (Saffo) – première for Teatro dell’Opera of Rome on 28 October 1911. * Ubaldo Pacchierotti ''Eidelberga mia'' (Catina) – opera composed for her voice and interpreted in prima assoluta at Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires in 1909; *

Ettore Panizza Ettore Panizza (born Héctor Panizza; 12 August 187527 November 1967) was an Argentine conductor and composer, one of the leading conductors of the early 20th century. Panizza possessed technical mastery and was popular and influential during ...

''Aurora'' (Aurora) – opera composed for her voice and interpreted in prima assoluta at Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires in 1909. *

''Manon Lescaut'' (Manon Lescaut) – opera composed for her voice and interpreted in première for Teatro alla Scala of Milan on 27 March 1897. *Giacomo Puccini ''La Bohème'' (Mimì) – opera interpreted in première for America at Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires in 1896 and in première for Romania at Bucharest National Theatre on 15 January 1903. *Giacomo Puccini ''Tosca'' (Floria Tosca) – opera composed for her voice; the soprano's aria was requested to Puccini by Hariclea Darclée suggesting the principal musicals elements, too; the opera was interpreted in prima assoluta at Teatro dell’Opera of Rome on 14 January 1900 and in première at Teatro Regio of Turin on 20 February 1900, Teatro alla Scala of Milan on 17 March 1900, Lisbon on 19 January 1901, Bucharest National Theatre on 18 January 1902 and Monte-Carlo Opera on 28 March 1903. *

Luigi Luigi (; ) is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Part of Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, he is a kind-hearted, cowardly Italian plumber, and the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario. Like ...

Federico Ricci Federico Ricci (22 October 1809 – 10 December 1877), was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. Born in Naples, he was the younger brother of Luigi Ricci, with whom he collaborated on several works. Federico studied at Naples as had hi ...

''Crispino e la Comare'' (La Comare). *

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

''Guglielmo Tell'' (Matilde d’Absburgo). *Gioachino Rossini ''Stabat Mater'' (Soprano). * Anton Rubinstein ''Damon'' (Tamara). *

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

''Proserpine'' (Proserpine). *

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

''Der Rosenkavalier'' (Marschalin) – première for Italy at Teatro dell’Opera of Rome on 14 November 1911. *

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 (opera), Hamlet'' (1868). Born into a musical family, Thomas was a student at the C ...

''Hamlet'' (Ofélie). *Ambroise Thomas ''Mignon'' (Mignon). *Pietro Vallini ''Il Voto'' (Maria) – opera composed for her voice and interpreted in prima assoluta at Teatro dell’Opera of Rome on 27 November 1894. *

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

''Aida'' (Aida). *Giuseppe Verdi ''Un ballo in maschera'' (Amelia). *Giuseppe Verdi ''Otello'' (Desdemona). *Giuseppe Verdi ''Rigoletto'' (Gilda). *Giuseppe Verdi ''Simon Boccanegra'' (Amelia-Maria) – première for Teatro dell’Opera of Rome on 17 May 1892. *Giuseppe Verdi ''La Traviata'' (Violetta Valery). *Giuseppe Verdi ''Il Trovatore'' (Leonora). *

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

''Die Meistersinger'' (Eva). *Richard Wagner ''Lohengrin'' (Elsa). *Richard Wagner ''Tannhäuser'' (Elisabeth) – première for Italy at Teatro alla Scala of Milan on 29 December 1891 and for Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires in 1897.

References

External links

Hariclea Darclee Festival and International Voice Competition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darclee, Hariclea 1860 births 1939 deaths People from Brăila Romanian people of Greek descent George Enescu National University of Arts alumni Romanian operatic sopranos 19th-century Romanian women opera singers 20th-century Romanian women opera singers Burials at Bellu Cemetery People from the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia