Deva Dassy

Deva Dassy (born Marie-Anne Lambert; 26 August 1911 – 11 March 2016) was a French mezzo-soprano, active in opera and operetta in France from the 1930s to the 1960s who made many radio and studio recordings.Deva-Dassy. In : L'encyclopédie multimedia de la comédie musicale théâtrale en France (1918-1940)
accessed 17 March 2016 (with two portrait photos)Deva Dassy at the BNF
/ref>

Life and career

Born Marie-Anne Lambert in Paris, she was the daughter of the radical French politician Charles Lambert (1883-1972) and the pianist Germaine Polack (1878-1952) and had a half-sister Gertrude van Goens, from the previous marriage of her mother with the cellist and composer Daniël van Goens (1858-1904).

She made her debut with her stage name at the Opéra-Comique on 19 February 1932 in ''Madame Butterfly'' (Suzouki). She went on to sing major roles in operas such as ''Werther'' (Charlotte), ''Mignon'' (Mignon), ''Résurrection'' (Servant), ''Gianni Schicchi'' (Ciesca) and '' Les voitures versées'' (Agathe) ''La Femme nue'' (l'Infirmière). Among her creations at the Salle Favart were Inès in ''Frasquita'' (1932), Violette in ''Le Roi bossu'' by Elsa Barraine, a servant in ''Tarass Boulba''.

In 1934 her performances in Nice brought forward the comment that her Charlotte confirmed her early promise to be a star of the French lyric stage, with her warm and sensitive voice. As Mignon, the critic lauded her physical appearance embodying the wild 'bohémienne', with her voice across varied tones. She also appeared there that season as '' la Navarraise'' and as Prince Charmant in '' Cendrillon''.

In musical comedy she created roles in ''Erosine'' in 1935 (Commère), the title role in ''Yana'' in 1936, and in the 'revue opérette' ''La Féérie blanche'' in 1937, with Anton Dolin among the cast. After the war she became a frequent participant in the programme of the Service lyrique de l'ORTF making radio broadcasts of light operas, and up to 1963 took part in ''Rhodope'' (Ganne) 1962, ''No, no, Nanette'' 1954, ''Dix-neuf ans'' ( Pascal Bastia) 1963 and Lady Poum (''Die erste Beste'', Oscar Straus) 1963, among others.

She appeared in the film ''Faut ce qu'il faut'' (filmed 1940, released 1946, also known as ''Monsieur Bibi'') directed by René Pujol, ''Ces sacrées vacances'' (1955) by Robert Vernay, and ''Toute la ville accuse'' (1955) by Claude Boissol.

In the 1930s she recorded operetta excerpts from, among others, ''Deux sous de fleurs'', ''La Dubarry'', ''Fleur d'Hawaï'', ''O mon bel inconnu'', ''Rose de France'', ''Valses de Vienne'' and ''Yana''. In the 1950s she took part in recordings of longer extracts or complete versions of ''La Petite Mademoiselle'' by Messager, ''Le Coeur et la main'' by Lecocq (Josefa), '' Les Mousquetaires au couvent'' by Varney (Soeur Opportune), ''Geneviève de Brabant'' (Isoline), ''Orphée aux enfers'' (Junon/Vénus), '' La Vie parisienne'' (Métella) and ''Barbe-Bleue'' (La Reine Clémentine) and the title role in ''La belle Hélène'' by Offenbach. In 1962 she was Militza in '' François les bas-bleus'' in a radio recording under Marcel Cariven. She died in Mouriès.

Family

In 1925 she wed the politician Louis Lallemant (1878-1948) at Fontainebleau (divorced 1932). In 1936 she married François Brunschwig, and had a son Jean-François; they were divorced the same year.Déva DASSY cantatrice (1911-2016) genealogy
accessed 23 July 2017.

In 1940 she was one of the passengers on the ocean liner the ''Massilia'' with her partner Georges Mandel which transported members of the defeated French government and their families into exile.Fauchet, Benoît. Deva Dassy ls nous ont quittés '' Diapason'', Juin 2016, No.647, p15.

References

External links

Photo showing Deva Dassy (seated right)
at Gilbert Bécaud's birthday in 1955. accessed 28 April 2016.
WorldCat entry for Deva Dassy
accessed 23 July 2017.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dassy, Deva
1911 births
2016 deaths
French centenarians
French operatic mezzo-sopranos
Singers from Paris
People from Gard
20th-century French women opera singers
Women centenarians