Louise Marie Amélie Faivre (February 4, 1837 - November 17, 1897) was a French mezzo-soprano. Born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, the daughter of François-Théodore Faivre (1799-1861), a trombonist with the Théâtre-Italien, and Julie-Coralie Bolot (1814-1883), Faivre studied at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or 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 Jean Ja ...

, where in 1857 she received third prize in singing and second in the field of ''

opéra-comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

''. A career singer at the

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique () was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Paris Opera, Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien (1801–1878), Théâtre-Italien). ...

, at which she debuted in 1857 in ''

Euryanthe ''Euryanthe'' ( J. 291, Op. 81) is a German grand heroic-romantic opera by Carl Maria von Weber, first performed at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna on 25 October 1823.Brown, p. 88 Though acknowledged as one of Weber's most important operas, ...

'' by

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...

, she ultimately rose to become principal dugazon of that company, for which she created a number of roles. Most notably, in 1859, she was the first Siébel in ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'' by

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

; other roles which she created for the company included parts in ''Le moulin du roi'', by Adrien Boieldieu; ''

La colombe (''The Dove'') is an ''opéra comique'' in two acts by Charles Gounod with a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré based on the poem by Jean de La Fontaine, itself after a tale (V,9) in The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio. It premiered i ...

'', by Gounod; ''Les deux amours'', by

François-Auguste Gevaert François-Auguste Gevaert (31 July 1828 – 24 December 1908) was a Belgian musicologist and composer. Nicolas Slonimsky, ed., '' Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', 8th ed., Schirmer Books, New York Life Gevaert was born in Huise ...

; ''Erostate'', by

Ernest Reyer Louis Étienne Ernest Reyer (1 December 1823 – 15 January 1909) was a French opera composer and music critic. Biography Ernest Reyer was born in Marseille. His father, a notary, did not want his son to take up a career in music. However, he d ...

; and ''La fille de l'orfèvre'', by . For

la Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

she was the first Fatima in ''

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairy, fairies in Middle Ages, medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania ...

'' by Weber. She was the first to perform ''La mort de Socrate'' by ; she also created parts in ''Le valet-poète'', by Raoul de Lostanges, and ''Le tricorne enchanté'', by . Faivre was the sister of Marie Faivre, also a singer. With her husband, Charles Réty, she was the mother of Marie Madeleine Emilie Réty, known as Bernerette Gandrey, a singer as well. Faivre died at home in the

17th arrondissement of Paris The 17th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le dix-septième'' (; "the seventeenth"). The arrondissement, known as Batignol ...

, and was buried at

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

References

1837 births 1897 deaths French operatic mezzo-sopranos 19th-century French women opera singers Singers from Paris Conservatoire de Paris alumni Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery {{France-opera-singer-stub