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Victoria Balfe Y Roser
Victoria Balfe (1 September 1835 or 1837 – 22 January 1871) was a French noblewoman and singer. Balfe was also known as Victoire Crampton and Victoire Fernández de Velasco, duchess of Frías. She was the second daughter of the composer Michael William Balfe and his wife, the singer Lina Roser. She was born in the rue de la Victoire, Paris. Her father trained her as a singer, and she studied the piano at the Paris Conservatoire. She later studied in London, with Sterndale Bennett and Manuel García, and in Italy. She first appeared in London under Frederick Gye's management at the Lyceum Theatre on 28 May 1857, as Amina in ''La sonnambula''. On 31 March 1860, she was married to Sir John Fiennes Twisleton Crampton, 2nd Baronet, the British minister to Russia. The marriage was annulled on her petition on 20 November 1863 on grounds of impotence.''The Times'', 21 November 1863 In 1864, she married José Bernardin Fernández de Velasco, duke of Frías, a grandee of Spain. On 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael William Balfe
Michael William Balfe (15 May 1808 – 20 October 1870) was an Irish composer, best remembered for his operas, especially ''The Bohemian Girl''. After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to compose. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he composed at least 29 operas, almost 250 songs, several cantatas and other works. He was also a noted conductor, directing Italian Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre for seven years, among other conducting posts. Biography Early life and career Balfe was born in Dublin, where his musical gifts became apparent at an early age. He received instruction from his father, a dancing master and violinist, and the composer William Rooke. His family moved to Wexford when he was a child. Between 1814 and 1815, Balfe played the violin for his father's dancing-classes, and at the age of seven composed a polacca. In 1817, he appeared as a violinist in public, and in this year composed a ballad, first cal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
