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 Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

. She made her debut at the Paris Opera in 1733 and sang regularly at the

Concert Spirituel The Concert Spirituel ( en, Spiritual Concert) was one of the first public concert series in existence. The concerts began in Paris in 1725 and ended in 1790. Later, concerts or series of concerts of the same name occurred in Paris, Vienna, Londo ...

. In a career that lasted 35 years, she sang in all the operas of

Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and ...

along with

Pierre Jélyotte Pierre Jélyotte (13 April 1713 – 11 September 1797) was a French operatic tenor, particularly associated with works by Rameau, Lully, Campra, Mondonville and Destouches. Life and career Born Pierre Grichon in Lasseube, he studied ...

, created roles in those of Mondonville, and participated in revivals of those of

Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...

and Campra. She retired from the stage in 1758, but continued to perform in concert until 1769. She died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. She had a long-term relationship with the painter Quentin de La Tour, 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 and the Encyclopédiste Louis de Cahusac.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 Sophie Arnould (13 February 1740, in Paris – 18 October 1802, in Paris) was a French operatic soprano. Born Magdeleine Sophie Arnould, she studied in Paris with Marie Fel and La Clairon, and made her stage debut at the Opéra de Paris on 15 ...

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