Marie Fel (24 October 1713 – 2 February 1794) was a French opera singer and a daughter of the organist Henri Fel.
Marie Fel was born at
Bordeaux. She made her debut 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 1733 and sang regularly at the
Concert Spirituel. In a career that lasted 35 years, she sang in all the operas of
Rameau along with
Pierre Jélyotte, created roles in those of
Mondonville, and participated in revivals of those of
Lully and
Campra. She retired from the stage in 1758, but continued to perform in concert until 1769. She died in
Paris.
She had a long-term relationship with the painter
Quentin de La Tour
Maurice Quentin de La Tour (5 September 1704 – 17 February 1788) was a French Rococo portraitist who worked primarily with pastels. Among his most famous subjects were Voltaire, Rousseau, Louis XV of France, Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour.
...
, who painted her portrait. "The greatest personalities of her age sought her good graces and gave her lively proofs of their affections," including men of letters such as the
Baron von Grimm
Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm (26 September 172319 December 1807) was a German-born French-language journalist, art critic, diplomat and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' ...
and the Encyclopédiste
Louis de Cahusac
Louis de Cahusac (6 April 1706 – 22 June 1759) was an 18th-century French playwright and librettist, and Freemason, most famous for his work with the composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. He provided the libretti for several of Rameau's operas, name ...
.
[Emile Campardon, L’Académie Royale de Musique au XVIII Siècle: Documents inédites découverts aux Archives Nationales (Paris: Berger-Levrault, 1884), I:37] The French actress and singer
Sophie Arnould was one of her students.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fel, Marie
French operatic sopranos
18th-century French women opera singers
Musicians from Bordeaux
1713 births
1794 deaths