Juliette Nesville was the stage name of Juliette-Hortense Lesne (30 July 1869 – 26 July 1900), a French singer and actress in operetta and musicals, who made most of her short career in London, after early success in Paris and Brussels. After training 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 ...

Nesville appeared in opéras comiques by

Paul Lacôme Paul-Jean-Jacques Lacôme d'Estalenx (4 March 1838 – 12 December 1920) was a French composer. Between 1870 and the turn of the century he produced a series of operettas and operas-bouffes that were popular both in France and abroad. Interest i ...

Robert Planquette Jean Robert Planquette (31 July 1848 – 28 January 1903) was a French composer of songs and operettas. Several of Planquette's operettas were extraordinarily successful in Britain, especially '' Les cloches de Corneville'' (1878), the length of ...

Edmond Audran Achille Edmond Audran (12 April 184017 August 1901) was a French composer best known for several internationally successful comic operas and operettas. After beginning his career in Marseille as an organist, Audran composed religious music and ...

and

Charles Lecocq Alexandre Charles Lecocq (3 June 183224 October 1918) was a French composer, known for his opérettes and opéras comiques. He became the most prominent successor to Jacques Offenbach in this sphere, and enjoyed considerable success in the 1870 ...

in 1890. After a highly successful appearance in the Brussels production of Audran's '' Miss Helyett'' she was engaged by the English manager Charles Wyndham in 1891 to play the part in London. She then appeared for

George Edwardes George Joseph Edwardes (né Edwards; 8 October 1855 – 4 October 1915) was an English theatre manager and producer of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond. Edwardes started out in theatre ma ...

in a succession of West End

musical comedies Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

during the rest of the decade, interspersed with two non-musical plays for other managements. She died in Paris after a short illness while appearing there in 1900, aged thirty.

Life and career

Nesville was born in Paris, daughter of the proprietor of the

Café de la Paix The Café de la Paix () is a famous café located on the northwest corner of the intersection of the Boulevard des Capucines and the Place de l'Opéra, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. Designed in the Nap ...

. Her parents had strict religious views, and she was educated in convent schools, first in France and, from the age of about twelve to fifteen, in England, by the

Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (Congregationis Sororum a Domina Nostra Namurcensi) are a Catholic institute of religious sisters, founded to provide education to the poor. The institute was founded in Amiens, France, in 1804, but the oppo ...

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...

.Valentine, A Henriques. "Miss Juliette Nesville at Home", ''The Ludgate'', April 1899, pp. 477–481 After her return to France she was admitted to the

, and while still a student there she was selected to play the small role of Loys, the page boy, in a revival of

Jules Barbier Paul Jules Barbier (8 March 182516 January 1901) was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré. He was a noted Parisian bon vivant and man of letters.Sarah Bernhardt, at the

Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin The Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin is a venerable theatre and opera house at 18, Boulevard Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. History It was first built very rapidly in 1781 under the direction of (1726–1810) to house th ...

, Paris. The incidental music, by

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 ...

, included a

ballade Ballad is a form of narrative poetry, often put to music, or a type of sentimental love song in modern popular music. Ballad or Ballade may also refer to: Music Genres and forms * Ballade (classical music), a musical setting of a literary ballad ...

for Loys, "Qui de nous ne connait ces vers mouillés de larmes". The composer heard several Conservatoire students sing it, including two future operatic stars, Lucienne Bréval and Lina Pacary, and recommended Nesville for the part. Her performance won praise. She requested and was given permission to leave the Conservatoire to create the title role in

's opéra comique '' Ma mie Rosette'' at the

Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques The Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques was a theatre in Paris in the 19th and 20th centuries. Opened first in 1832 in the site of the old Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique on the Boulevard du Temple, under Frédérick Lemaître it became a noted venue f ...

, Paris, on 4 February 1890. The piece ran for only 41 performances, but she made a great impression, and appeared at the same theatre during 1890, starring in three revivals – as Nelly in

's opéra comique ''Rip'', Azurine in a revival of

's ''La Fille de l'air'' and Rosita in

's ''

Gillette de Narbonne ''Gillette de Narbonne'' is an ''opéra comique'' in three acts, with music by Edmond Audran and words by Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot. It is based on a fabliau from ''The Decameron'' and depicts a rejected bride posing as another woman to decei ...

'' – and creating the role of Djemileh in

opérette This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

'' L'égyptienne''. Nesville's success in Paris led the director of the Théâtre Royal des Galeries in Brussels to engage her to play the title role in Audran's '' Miss Helyett''. In the words of the magazine ''The Theatre'', "she took the town by storm". The English actor-manager Charles Wyndham saw her in the piece and engaged her for its forthcoming production in London. It opened at the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began developmen ...

in July 1891, under the title ''Miss Decima''; the book was adapted by F. C. Burnand and the lyrics were adapted by Percy Reeve. The piece was well received, and Nesville's notices were highly complimentary: "positively captivated the audience … one of the brightest, prettiest and most refined French artists we have seen". David-James-Juliette-Nesville-Miss-Decima

David-James-Juliette-Nesville-Miss-Decima

In November 1891 Nesville married an Englishman, James Jeffrey Cooke. Their London residence was in Bloomsbury; she maintained a home in France at

Le Vésinet Le Vésinet () is a suburban commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is a part of the affluent outer suburbs of western Paris, from the centre of Paris. In 2019, it had a population of 15,943. ...

. She said later in the decade that she thought of herself as an Englishwoman. Nesville had a succession of roles in London productions of the 1890s. In 1892 and into 1893 she starred in the English adaptation of ''Ma mie Rosette'', which did far better at the box-office than the original French production had done.Lamb, Andrew
2002 "Lacome (Lacôme d’Estalenx), Paul(-Jean-Jacques) (opera)"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2 December 2018 From reviewers there was much praise for her acting and charm, and on the whole for her singing, although the critic in ''

The Pall Mall Gazette ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, '' The Globe'' merged into ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', which itself was absorbed in ...

'' thought that nature did not intend her to be a singer. She returned to the Criterion in to play Clairette in ''

La fille de Madame Angot ''La fille de Madame Angot'' (''Madame Angot's Daughter'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq with words by Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning. It was premiered in Brussels in December 1872 and soon became a success in ...

'' and was then engaged by

to play Mina, the French maid, in ''

A Gaiety Girl ''A Gaiety Girl'' is an English musical comedy in two acts by a team of musical comedy neophytes: Owen Hall (book, on an outline by James T. Tanner), Harry Greenbank (lyrics) and Sidney Jones (music). It opened at Prince of Wales Theatre in ...

'' (1893). In 1894 Nesville appeared with the ''Gaiety Girl'' company in New York and then toured the US; on her return to England she played her first non-musical role, Sally Lebrune, in

Henry Arthur Jones Henry Arthur Jones (20 September 1851 – 7 January 1929) was an English dramatist, who was first noted for his melodrama '' The Silver King'' (1882), and went on to write prolifically, often appearing to mirror Ibsen from the opposite (conserv ...

's ''The Triumph of the Philistines'', which George Alexander produced at the

St James's Theatre The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham; it lost money and after three seasons he retired. A succ ...

in 1895. The critic of ''London Society'' dismissed the play but judged Nesville – "a really excellent actress" – its only redeeming feature. In the same year Nesville took over the role of Madame Amélie in ''

An Artist's Model ''An Artist's Model'' is a two-act musical by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank and music by Sidney Jones, with additional songs by Joseph and Mary Watson, Paul Lincke, Frederick Ross, Henry Hamilton and Leopold Wenzel. It opened at Daly' ...

'' at

Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresar ...

. That was another Edwardes musical comedy, as was the long-running ''

The Geisha ''The Geisha, a story of a tea house'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts. The score was composed by Sidney Jones to a libretto by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank. Additional songs were written by Lionel Monckton and James ...

'' (1896), in which she played Juliette Diamant. Illness obliged her to leave the cast for a while during the run, but she recovered so well that on her return she managed the unusual feat of playing in two different West End productions at the same time. While playing Juliette Diamant at Daly's she also played Gilberte Picard, a French singer, in the farce ''My Friend the Prince'' at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ' ...

. She told an interviewer that she found it "rather good fun, but awful hard work: it leaves you little time to get out of one stage costume into another, and then back to the first theatre again." Another American trip took place in 1897. After a two-week try-out at the Garrick, Edwardes sent a company to New York to play '' In Town''; Nesville's colleagues in the company included

W. Louis Bradfield Walter Louis Bradfield (13 June 1866 – 12 August 1919), was an English actor and singer who starred in Edwardian musical comedy and other theatrical works. Biography The son of William Bradfield, a civil servant, Bradfield was born on 13 Ju ...

and

Marie Studholme Caroline Maria Lupton (10 September 1872 – 10 March 1930),Peter Bailey"Studholme, Marie (1872–1930)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press (2004), Retrieved on 27 June 2008 known professionally as Marie Studho ...

. Nesville's role, Juliette Breville, was an addition to the original version, written specifically for her. She remained in New York to repeat her role of Sally Lebrune, in ''The Triumph of the Philistines''. ''The Geisha'' was still running in London when she returned, and she rejoined the cast. She spent much of 1898 in a succession of engagements at the Alhambra music hall in Leicester Square, singing selections from the shows in which she had appeared. In May 1899 she was engaged to return to Paris, singing in a revival of ''Le voyage de Corbillon'' at the Folies-Dramatiques, and creating the role of Nina in a new "vaudeville-opérette", ''Madame Pistache''. ''

Les Annales du théâtre et de la musique ''Les Annales du Théâtre et de la Musique'' ("The Annals of Theatre and Music") was an annual French periodical which covered French dramatic and lyric theatre for 42 years, from 1875 to 1916. The volumes also covered concert series and ne ...

'' thought her the best thing about the production. Back in London in September she created her last West End role, a French maid, in a new farce, ''The Elixir of Youth'': "no more roguish, mischievous little cocquette has been seen for a long time on the stage than Miss Juliette Nesville's Suzette", commented ''The Era''."The Elixir of Youth", ''The Era'', 16 September 1899, p. 13 In July 1900 Nesville was in Paris to play the role of the Prince in Ernest Gillet's opéra bouffe ''Mariage princier'', when she was taken ill. She died a few days later, aged thirty, and was buried at Le Vesinet.Obituary, ''Le Monde artiste'', 5 August 1900, p. 495

Notes, references and sources

Notes

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nesville, Juliette 1869 births 1900 deaths French operatic sopranos 19th-century French women singers