Yvonne de Tréville (August 25, 1881 — January 25, 1954) was an American coloratura soprano, born Edyth Le Gierse.

Early life

Edyth Le Gierse was born in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

; her father was French-speaking, and her mother was from

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

."Miss de Tréville a Linguist" ''New York Times'' (January 15, 1912): 9. via

ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...

She studied voice with Mathilde Marchesi in Paris.

Career

Yvonne de Tréville made her debut in New York in 1897, and the next year was playing Mimi in the New York debut of

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...

's '' La Bohème''. In 1902 she first appeared with the Paris Opéra-Comique as Lakmé. Over the following decade, she sang in Stockholm, St. Petersburg, Budapest, Nice, Berlin, Bucharest, Prague, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hanover, Cairo, and Brussels; she was noted for her strong language skills. She sang Mimi again at the Vienna Court Opera in 1909 and 1910. She returned to the United States in 1912. Tréville appeared on the Broadway stage in ''

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 ...

'' in 1918 and 1919. In her later career she focused on concert singing, touring, arranging songs, and teaching voice in New York. She was associated with the Interstate Grand Opera Company, to bring opera music to the American midwest. Composers

Mary Carr Moore Mary Carr Moore (6 August 1873 - 9 January 1957) was an American composer, conductor, vocalist, and music educator of the twentieth century. She is best remembered today for her association with the musical life of the West Coast. Early life ...

, Gertrude Ross, and

Gena Branscombe Gena Branscombe (4 November 1881 – 26 July 1977) was a Canadian pianist, composer, music educator and choir conductor who lived and worked in the United States. Early life and education Gena Branscombe was born 4 November 1881 in Picton, Ont ...

composed and dedicated songs to Yvonne de Tréville, songs which she performed in her ''Three Centuries of Prime Donne'' show for several seasons. In 1914, she sang a recital at sea for the sailors, after her concert appearances in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she was active performing for war relief causes. She gave a concert for the Aviation Corps in Mineola, New York, and at a rally for the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

. She also chaired a wartime committee promoting the writing of new patriotic songs.

Personal life

Yvonne de Tréville died in 1954, aged 72 years."Miss De Treville, Opera Singer, 72" ''New York Times'' (January 27, 1954): 27. via

References

External links

A 1916 recording of Yvonne de Tréville
singing "L'Eclat de rire" from ''Manon Lescaut'', in the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive, Special Collections, University of California Santa Barbara Libraries.
Yvonne de Tréville's listing on IBDB.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treville, Yvonne de 1881 births 1954 deaths American operatic sopranos People from Galveston, Texas 19th-century American women opera singers 20th-century American women opera singers Singers from Texas Classical musicians from Texas