Marguerite Carré (''née'' Giraud, also known as Marguerite Giraud-Carré) (16 August 1880 – 26 November 1947) was a French

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 ...

who created numerous roles at the Paris

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 the course of her career. She was born in Cabourg, France, the daughter of French

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

Auguste Louis Giraud and Jenny Gabrielle Vaillant of Paris (9 May 1857 – 1903). Auguste Giraud was the director of the Graslin Theater in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

where Carré made her stage debut in 1899 as Mimì in Puccini's '' La bohème''. Descriptions of her performance were favorable. "She was very musical, gifted with a charming voice and intelligent actress." She married Albert Carré, the director of the Opéra-Comique in 1902 and became known by her married name, Marguerite Carré. Their daughter Jenny Carré (1902–1945) would eventually take up a career in theater costume design. The couple divorced in 1924, but remarried in 1929. In Paris, Carré was hailed as a "celebrated soprano" who created roles in 15 works at the Opéra-Comique. She was the first in Paris to perform Cio-Cio-San, the leading role in Puccini's ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

''. In addition, she earned acclaim for her work in the title role of Massenet's opera ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was first ...

'' and as Mélisande in '' Pelléas and Mélisande,'' the only opera by Debussy. When American soprano Rosa Ponselle decided to add the role of

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 ...

to her repertoire, she studied with the Carré's for two months in 1935 before her Metropolitan Opera performance.

Phillips-Matz, Mary Jane Mary Jane Phillips-Matz (January 30, 1926 – January 19, 2013) was an American biographer and writer on opera. She is mainly known for her biography of Giuseppe Verdi, a result of 30 years' research and published in 1992 by Oxford University Press ...

(1997)
''Rosa Ponselle: American Diva''
p. 265. University Press of New England. Père-Lachaise - Division 89 - Carre 02

Carré died in 1947 at the age of 67 in Paris'' Le Figaro'' (30 November 1947) "Marguerite Carré est morte", p. 1 and her tomb can be found at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris (89th division).

References

External links

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Marguerite Carré
Association l'Art Lyrique Français {{DEFAULTSORT:Carre, Marguerite 1880 births 1947 deaths People from Cabourg French operatic sopranos 20th-century French women opera singers Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery