Marie-Julie Boulanger, née Marie-Julie Halligner (29 January 1786 – 23 July 1850), was a French mezzo-soprano. She performed her entire career under the stage name Mme Boulanger, appearing in the world premieres of '' Le maître de chapelle'', '' L'ambassadrice'', ''

Le domino noir ''Le domino noir'' (''The Black Domino'') is an '' opéra comique'' by the French composer Daniel Auber, first performed on 2 December 1837 by the Opéra-Comique at the Salle de la Bourse in Paris.Wild and Charlton (2005), p. 226. The lib ...

'', and ''

La fille du régiment ' (''The Daughter of the Regiment'') is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti, set to a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard. It was first performed on 11 February 1840 by the Paris Opéra ...

''.

Biography

Born in Paris, her parents were middle-class shopkeepers. She was the older sister of Sophie Halligner, an actress at the

Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe The Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe ( en, European Music Hall) (formerly the Théâtre de l'Odéon ( en, Music Hall)) is one of France's six national theatres. It is located at 2 rue Corneille in the 6th arrondissement of Paris on the left bank ...

and the

Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique The Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique (, literally, Theatre of the Comic-Ambiguity), a former Parisian theatre, was founded in 1769 on the boulevard du Temple immediately adjacent to the Théâtre de Nicolet. It was rebuilt in 1770 and 1786, but in ...

who had married the actor Frédérick Lemaître in 1826. Halligner entered the

Paris Conservatory 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 ...

in 1806 to study ''solfeggio''; she was a pupil of Charles-Henri Plantade and

Pierre-Jean Garat Pierre-Jean Garat (25 April 1764 – 1 March 1823) was a French Basque singer and nephew of Dominique Joseph Garat. He was born in Ustaritz. Garat devoted himself from an early age to the cultivation of his musical talents. Because he professed ...

. Halligner's debut at the Opéra-Comique in 1811 was considered "an immense success". A notable

soubrette A soubrette is a type of operatic soprano voice ''fach'', often cast as a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy". Theatre In theatre, a soubrette is a ...

at the Opéra-Comique between 1811 and 1835, she continued performing until 1845, though her voice had started to fail her in the later years. She performed in the world premieres of numerous opéras comiques, including Lady Pamela in Auber's ''

Fra Diavolo Fra Diavolo (lit. Brother Devil; 7 April 1771–11 November 1806), is the popular name given to Michele Pezza, a famous guerrilla leader who resisted the French occupation of Naples, proving an "inspirational practitioner of popular insurrect ...

'' in 1830 and Ritta in Hérold's ''

Zampa ''Zampa'','' ou La fiancée de marbre'' (''Zampa, or the Marble Bride'') is an opéra comique in three acts by French composer Ferdinand Hérold, with a libretto by Mélesville. The overture to the opera is one of Hérold's most famous works an ...

'' in 1831.''Zampa'' libretto
1831 at Google Books. She played the role of Gertrude in '' Le maître de chapelle'', by

Ferdinando Paer Ferdinando Paer (1 July 1771 – 3 May 1839) was an Italian composer known for his operas. He was of Austrian descent and used the German spelling Pär in application for printing in Venice, and later in France the spelling Paër. Life and career ...

, 1821; Madame Barneck in '' L'ambassadrice'', by

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 when ...

, 1836; and the Marquise of Berkenfield in ''

'' by Gaetano Donizetti, 1840. Her other performances included the works of

André Grétry André Ernest Modeste Grétry (; baptised 11 February 1741; died 24 September 1813) was a composer from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (present-day Belgium), who worked from 1767 onwards in France and took French nationality. He is most famous ...

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 ...

François-Adrien Boieldieu François-Adrien Boieldieu (, also ) (16 December 1775 – 8 October 1834) was a French composer, mainly of operas, often called "the French Mozart". His date of birth was also cited as December 15 by his biographer and writer Lucien Augé de Lass ...

. Her voice was reportedly "fine, her execution brilliant and her acting full of character and intelligence." After retirement in 1845, she concentrated on teaching activities in Paris. Halligner was the wife of cellist and professor of the Paris Conservatory, Frédéric Boulanger, whom she had met during her studies there. Her son, Ernest Boulanger, winner of the

Grand Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in 1835, was a composer of

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

s; her daughter-in-law, Princess Raissa Mychetsky, descended from St. Mikahil Tchernigovsky. Her granddaughters,

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

and

Lili Boulanger Marie Juliette "Lili" Boulanger (; 21 August 189315 March 1918) was a French composer and the first female winner of the Prix de Rome composition prize. Her older sister was the noted composer and composition teacher Nadia Boulanger. Biography ...

, also competed in the Prix de Rome, Nadia earning second place in 1908 and Lili taking the first prize in 1913.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallinger, Marie 1786 births 1850 deaths Musicians from Paris 19th-century French women opera singers Conservatoire de Paris alumni French operatic mezzo-sopranos