Marie-Louise Cébron-Norbens (1888–1958) was a French mezzo-soprano opera singer who is remembered for her roles in operetta. She made her début at the Gaîté-Lyrique as Prince Charming in

Nicolas Isouard Nicolas Isouard (also known as ''Nicolò'', ''Nicolò Isoiar'' or ''Nicolò de Malte''; 18 May 1773 – 23 March 1818) was a Maltese-born French composer. Biography Born in Porto Salvo, Valletta, Malta, Isouard studied in Rabat or Mdina with Fra ...

's '' Cendrillon'' in January 1909. She went on to perform in operettas in various Paris theatres until 1938, participating in the première of

Ruggero Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo ( , , ; 23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs throughout his career it is his opera '' Pagliacci'' (1892) that remained h ...

's ''Malbrouck s'en va-t-en guerre'' at the Théâtre Apollo in November 1910. One of her major successes was the role of Zélie in Louis Urgel's operetta ''Monsieur Dumollet'' at the

Théâtre du Vaudeville The Théâtre du Vaudeville was a theatre company in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Piis and Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets sur des airs connus", including vaudevilles. Af ...

in May 1922.

Biography

Born in the 8th arrondissement of Paris on 31 March 1888, Marie Louise Berthe Cébron was the daughter of Berthe Marie Louise Cébron. She married twice, first on 25 July 1910 with the lawyer Jacques Josef Guélot who died fighting on 6 September 1914, and then on 11 September 1920 with Adolphe Eugère Altuzaara-Alvarrez of the Cuban consulate. From 1907 to 1908, she studied 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 ...

where she received prizes, medals and certificates of merit in theory, voice, comic opera and opera. Cébron Norbens made her début at the Gaîté-Lyrique in January 1909 as Prince Charming in Isouard's ''Cendrillon''. The following December, at the Opéra-Comique she created the role of Bacchia in Ernest Garnier's ''Myrtil''. While at the Opèra-Comique, she also played Charlotte in ''

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel '' Th ...

'' and Santuzza in ''

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

''. Appearing in various Paris theatres, in November 1910 she performed in the première of Leoncavallo's highly successful ''Malbrouck s’en va-t-en guerre'' at the Théâtre Apollo. Also at the Apollo, she took part in the premières of Claude Terrasse's ''les Transatlantiques'' in May 1911 and his ''Cartouche'' in May 1914 where she played Athénaïs. She is remembered in particular for creating Zélie in Urgel's ''Monsieur Dumollet'' which premièred at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in May 1922. As late as 1938 she appeared in

Louis Varney Louis Varney (; 30 May 1844, New Orleans, Louisiana – 20 August 1908, Cauterets, France) was a French composer. Biography Louis Varney was the son of Alphonse Varney, a French conductor at the Bouffes-Parisiens and at the Grand Théâtr ...

's '' Les Mousquetaires au couvent'' as Soeur Opportune. Marie-Louise Cébron-Norbens died in

Château-Landon Château-Landon () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. The commune contains within it the Souppes-sur-Loing quarry, where the bright white travertine stones for construction of the ...

on 4 September 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cebron-Norbens, Marie-Louise 1888 births 1958 deaths Actresses from Paris French operatic mezzo-sopranos 20th-century French women opera singers