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Cornélie Falcon (28 January 1814 – 25 February 1897) was a French
dramatic soprano A dramatic soprano is a type of operatic soprano with a powerful, rich, emotive voice that can sing over, or cut through, a full orchestra. Thicker vocal folds in dramatic voices usually (but not always) mean less agility than lighter voices but a ...
who sang at the Opéra in Paris. Her greatest success was creating the role of Valentine in Meyerbeer's ''
Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history '' ...
''. She possessed "a full, resonant voice"Warrack and West 1992, p. 230. with a distinctive dark timbreRobinson and Walton 2011. and was an exceptional actress. Based on the roles written for her voice her vocal range spanned from low A-flat(A3) to high D(D6), 2.5 octaves. She and the tenor Adolphe Nourrit are credited with being primarily responsible for raising artistic standards at the Opéra, and the roles in which she excelled came to be known as "falcon soprano" parts.Robinson 1992, p. 110. She had an exceptionally short career, essentially ending about five years after her debut, when at the age of 23 she lost her voice during a performance of Niedermeyer's '' Stradella''.


Early life and training

She was born Marie-Cornélie Falcon in Le Monastier sur Gazeille (Velay) to Pierre Falcon, a master-tailor and his wife Edmée-Cornélie. Falcon was one of three children; her sister Jenny Falcon was to marry a Russian nobleman and appear on the stage at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
. Cornélie was enrolled at the
Paris Conservatory 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 ...
from 1827 to 1831.Gourret 1987, p. 33. There she first studied with Felice Pellegrini and
François-Louis Henry François-Louis(-Ferdinand) Henry (12 May 1786 – 22 February 1855) was a French baritone, who sang for about 35 years with the Opéra-Comique in Paris, where he created numerous leading roles. His stage name was Henri (or Henry).Kutsch & Riem ...
, and later with Marco Bordogni and Adolphe Nourrit. She won a second prize in ''
solfège In music, solfège (British English or American English , ) or solfeggio (; ), also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, among many names, is a mnemonic used in teaching aural skills, Pitch (music), pitch and sight-reading of Western classical music, W ...
'' in 1829, a first prize in vocalization (''vocalisation'') in 1830, and a first prize in singing (''chant'') in 1831.


Debut in ''Robert le diable''

At the invitation of Nourrit she made her debut at the age of 18 at the Opéra as Alice in the 41st performance of Meyerbeer's ''
Robert le diable ''Robert le diable'' (''Robert the Devil'') is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831, to a libretto written in French by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. ''Robert le diable'' is regarded as one of the first ...
'' (20 July 1832). The cast included Nourrit and Julie Dorus (who had premiered the role in 1830). The director of the Opéra,
Louis Véron Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...
, had made certain there was plenty of advance publicity, and the auditorium was packed. The audience included the composers
Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...
,
Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...
, Cherubini, Halévy, and Auber, the singers
Maria Malibran Maria Felicia Malibran (; 24 March 1808 – 23 September 1836) was a Spanish singer who commonly sang both contralto and soprano parts, and was one of the best-known opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality ...
, Caroline Branchu, and
Giulia Grisi Giulia Grisi (22 May 1811 – 29 November 1869) was an Italian opera singer. She performed widely in Europe, the United States and South America and was among the leading sopranos of the 19th century. Her second husband was Giovanni Matteo Mario ...
, and two of France's greatest actresses from the
Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...
,
Mademoiselle Mars Mademoiselle Mars (pseudonym of Anne Françoise Hyppolyte Boutet Salvetat; 9 February 1779 – 20 March 1847), French actress, was born in Paris, the natural daughter of the actor-author named Monvel (Jacques Marie Boutet) (1745–1812) and Jean ...
and Mademoiselle Georges. Other audience members included the painters
Honoré Daumier Honoré-Victorin Daumier (; February 26, 1808 – February 10 or 11, 1879) was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the July Revolution, Revolution of 1830 ...
and Ary Scheffer, the librettist
Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...
, and the critics and writers
Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...
,
Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...
,
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
, and
Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...
. Although understandably suffering from stage fright, Falcon managed to sing her first aria without error, and finished her role with "ease and competence."Pitou 1990, p. 449. Her tragic demeanor and dark looks were highly appropriate to the part, and she made a vivid impression on the public.Fétis 1862, p. 179. Meyerbeer himself came to Paris to see Falcon as Alice, but after her fifth performance on 24 August she had to withdraw due to illness, and he did not get to hear her until 17 September. The following day Meyerbeer wrote to his wife: "The house was as full as it ever could be, 8700 francs (without subscription) and many people could not find seats. The performance was ... so fresh ... like the first performance of the work, not a trace of being played out. About Falcon I dare not reach any definite conclusion, ... only it is evident that she has a strong and beautiful voice, not without agility, at the same time that she is a vividly expressive (but somewhat overcharged) actress. Unfortunately her intonation is not completely pure, and I fear she will never overcome these weaknesses. In sum, I think that she could be an outstanding star, and I will certainly in any case write a principal role for her in my new opera." Meyerbeer's new opera would become ''
Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history '' ...
'', in which Falcon was to achieve the greatest success of her career.


Other early roles at the Opéra

Her next role at the Opéra came on 27 February 1833 when she sang Amélie in Auber's '' Gustave III''. Ellen Creathorne Clayton has described the performance as follows:
Unfortunately, the part of the Countess Amélie, with its powder and hoops, and pretty coquetry, was not suited to the dark and mystic style of Cornélie. "Alas, Mdlle. Falcon!" cried Jules Janin; "this young creature, of such great hopes, sang without voice, without expression, without exertion, without energy, without point." She was stifled amid the mad gayety, the whirl of the dancers, the glare and splendor of the scenes. The singers in ''Gustave'' indeed were "nowhere;" the dancers reigned supreme.
Luigi Cherubini Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethov ...
asked Falcon to create Morgiana in his new 4-act ''tragédie lyrique'' '' Ali Baba, ou Les quarante voleurs'' (''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves''). The premiere was on 22 July 1833, and, as Spire Pitou tells us, "his invitation was more flattering than substantial, because the part of Morgiana hardly constituted a real challenge to a young and ambitious singer".Pitou 1990, p. 450. Falcon's next real opportunity to shine came with a new revival of ''Don Juan''. This was a 5-act adaptation in French by Castil-Blaze, his son Henri Blaze, and Émile Deschamps of Mozart's ''
Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...
''. The all-star cast included Falcon as Donna Anna and Nourrit as Don Juan with Nicolas Levasseur as Leporello, Marcellin Lafont as Don Ottavio, Prosper Dérivis as the Commandeur, Henri Dabadie as Masetto, Julie Dorus-Gras as Elvire, and Laure Cinti-Damoreau as Zerline. Berlioz, who must have attended a dress rehearsal, had some reservations about Falcon's performance, writing in ''Rénovateur'' (6 March 1834):
Mlle Falcon, so energetic in ''Robert le Diable'', was physically speaking, with her contenance "pale as a beautiful autumn evening", the ideal Donna Anna. She had fine moments in the accompanied recitative sung over her father's body. Why then did she all at once go off the boil in the great aria of the first act, "Tu sais quel inflâme"? Oh! Mlle Falcon, with those black eyes of yours and the incisive voice you possess, there is no need to be afraid. Let your eyes flash and your voice ring out: you will be yourself, and you will be the incarnation of the vengeful Spanish noblewoman whose principal features your timidity veiled from us.
Berlioz was rather more frank in a letter in which he wrote "my position s a critichas not allowed me to admit that without exception all the singers, and Nourrit most of all, are a thousand miles below their roles." Nevertheless, Falcon was admirably suited to the part, and her reception after the opening on 10 March 1834, was even more favorable than that which she had received for Alice. On 3 May 1834, Falcon sang Julia in a revival of Spontini's '' La vestale'' which was a benefit performance for Adolphe Nourrit. The cast, besides Nourrit as Licinius, included Nicolas Levasseur as Cinna, Henri Dabadie as the High Priest, and Zulmé Leroux-Dabadie as the Grand Vestal. The second act was repeated as an excerpt five more times that season. Falcon's portrayal of Julia was received favorably.


Concerts with Berlioz

Berlioz's admiration for the singer was considerable, however, and with Véron's permission he engaged her for one of his concerts which he organized that winter in the hall of the Paris Conservatory. It was the second in the series and was presented on 23 November 1834 with Narcisse Girard conducting. Falcon sang Berlioz's new orchestrations of the songs ''La captive'' and ''Le Jeune Pâtrie breton'', and earned an encore in which she sang an aria by Bellini. The concert also featured the premiere of Berlioz's new symphony ''
Harold en Italie (''Harold in Italy, symphony with viola obbligato''), as the manuscript describes it, is a four-movement orchestral work by Hector Berlioz, his Opus 16, H. 68, written in 1834. Throughout, the unusual viola part represents the titular protago ...
'', and the audience included the Duc d'Orléans, Chopin,
Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...
, and
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
. With the new symphony and Falcon as the star singer, the receipts were more than double those of the first concert on 9 November, which had featured the ''
Symphonie fantastique ' (''Fantastic Symphony: Episode in the Life of an Artist … in Five Sections'') Opus number, Op. 14, is a program music, programmatic symphony written by Hector Berlioz in 1830. The first performance was at the Paris Conservatoire on 5 December ...
'' and the overture '' Le Roi Lear''. However, ''La captive'', and not ''Harold'', was the hit of the show, with the ''Gazette Musicale'' (7 December 1834) calling it "a masterpiece of melodic skill and orchestration." Falcon also appeared the following year in a concert on 22 November 1835 which was organized jointly by Girard and Berlioz, in which she again sang Berlioz's ''Le Jeune Pâtre breton'' and an aria from Meyerbeer's opera '' Il crociato in Egitto''.


Further roles at the Opéra

Falcon's other creations at the Opéra included the roles of Rachel in Halévy's ''
La Juive ''La Juive'' (, ) is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra National de Paris, Opéra de Paris, on 23 February 1835. Composition history ''La Juive'' ...
'' (23 February 1835), Valentine in Meyerbeer's ''
Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history '' ...
'' (29 February 1836), the title role in Louise Bertin's '' La Esmeralda'' (14 November 1836), and Léonor in Louis Niedermeyer's '' Stradella'' (3 March 1837). She also appeared as the Countess in
Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...
's '' Le comte Ory'' and Pamira in Rossini's '' Le siège de Corinthe'' (1836). By 1835, Falcon was earning 50,000 francs/year at the Opéra, making her the highest paid artist there, earning nearly twice as much as Nourrit and three times as much as Dorus.


Vocal demise and final years

However, Falcon's singing career was remarkably short. She lost her voice catastrophically during the second performance of ''Stradella'' at the Opéra in March 1837. When Nourrit as Stradella asked her "Demain nous partirons – voulez-vous?" ('We leave tomorrow, are you willing?'), Falcon was unable to sing her line "Je suis prête" ('I am ready'), fainted, and was carried offstage by Nourrit. Berlioz, who was present, describes "raucous sounds like those of a child with
croup Croup ( ), also known as croupy cough, is a type of respiratory infection that is usually caused by a virus. The infection leads to swelling inside the trachea, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classic symptoms of "bar ...
, guttural, whistling notes that quickly faded like those of a flute filled with water". Falcon resumed performances, but her vocal difficulties continued, and she gave her last regular performance there in Meyerbeer's ''
Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history '' ...
'' on 15 January 1838. She resorted to all sorts of bogus treatments and remedies and moved to Italy for 18 months in the hope that the climate would have a beneficial effect. Falcon returned for a benefit at the Opéra on 14 March 1840, in which she was to sing selections from Act 2 of ''La Juive'' and Act 4 of ''Les Huguenots'' with
Gilbert Duprez Gilbert-Louis Duprez (6 December 180623 September 1896) was a French tenor, singing teacher and minor composer who famously pioneered the delivery of the operatic high C from the chest (''Ut de poitrine'', as Paris audiences called it). He also c ...
, Jean-Étienne Massol, and Julie Dorus-Gras. Her appearance was described as seemingly relaxed, as she received a standing ovation at her entrance. Her range in notes was critically diminished, and she could not perform in opera. She was said to have wept in response to her own vocal state. However, soon after it was discovered that her vocal abilities were now gone. As Spire Pitou relates: "She wept at her own pathetic fate but continued despite her inability to do much else besides make the audience regret the loss of her gifts. When she came to the painfully poignant words in ''Les Huguenots'', 'Nuit fatale, nuit d'alarmes, je n'ai plus d'avenir' ('Fatal night, night of alarms, I have no longer a future'), she could not support the dreadful irony of the line. She had no choice but to retire ..." There followed a few performances in Russia in 1840–1841, but after that, except for a few private performances in Paris at the court of
Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...
and for the Duc de Nemours, she definitively quit the stage. Many explanations have been offered for Falcon's loss of voice, including the enormous demands of the music of
Grand Opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and Orchestra, orchestras. The original productions consisted of spectacular design and stage effects with plots normally based on o ...
, the "ill-effects of beginning to sing in a large opera house before her body was fully mature", Falcon's attempts to lift her range above its natural
mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...
range, and nervous fatigue brought on by her personal life.Smart 2003, p. 116. Benjamin Walton has analyzed the music written for her and has suggested there was a break in her voice between a' and b'.
Gilbert Duprez Gilbert-Louis Duprez (6 December 180623 September 1896) was a French tenor, singing teacher and minor composer who famously pioneered the delivery of the operatic high C from the chest (''Ut de poitrine'', as Paris audiences called it). He also c ...
, who sang with her on several occasions, speculated that her inability to negotiate this transition was a factor in her "vocal demise". Falcon married a financier, becoming Madame Falcon-Malançon and a grandmother, and continued to live, reclusively, near the Opéra in the Chaussée d'Antin, until her death. At the end of 1891, she agreed to appear on stage at the Opéra on the occasion of a celebration of the centenary of Meyerbeer, "with three of her surviving contemporaries". She died in 1897 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 ...
.


Reputation

Having sung many of the important roles of early Grand Opera, Falcon was closely associated with the genre by contemporary audiences. The designation of the voice timbre "falcon", a
dramatic soprano A dramatic soprano is a type of operatic soprano with a powerful, rich, emotive voice that can sing over, or cut through, a full orchestra. Thicker vocal folds in dramatic voices usually (but not always) mean less agility than lighter voices but a ...
with a strong lower register (and lighter upper register) reflects this. Castil-Blaze described her voice in 1832:
...A range of two octaves extending from b to d, and resonating at all points with an equal vigour. A silvery voice, with a brilliant timbre, incisive enough that even the weight of the chorus cannot overwhelm it; yet the sound emitted with such force never loses its charm or purity.
Falcon's personal reputation was also relevant to her career. "Perhaps the only singer of the time to maintain a reputation for chastity", this perception carried over to appreciation of her performances of the ''ingénue'' roles for which she was famed. In 1844,
Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...
wrote of Falcon as:
... the ill-starred Mademoiselle Falcon, the loved and the lost one of L'Académie.
She, indeed, was a person to haunt even a passing stranger. Though the seal of her race was upon her beauty, and it wore the expression of a
Deborah According to the Book of Judges, Deborah (, ''Dəḇōrā'') was a prophetess of Judaism, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, and the only female judge mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Many scholars contend that the phrase, "a woman of Lap ...
or a
Judith The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...
, rather than of a
Melpomene Melpomene (; ) is the Muse of tragedy in Greek mythology. She is described as the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne (and therefore of power and memory) along with the other Muses, and she is often portrayed with a tragic theatrical mask. Etymolog ...
, I have never seen any actress, who in look and gesture so well deserved the style and title of the Muse of Modern Tragedy. Large, dark, melancholy eyes, – finely cut features, – a form, though slight, not meagre, – and, above all, an expressiveness of tone rarely to be found in voices of her register, which was a legitimate ''soprano'', – the power of engaging interest by mere glance and step when first she presented herself, and of exciting the strongest emotions of pity, or terror, or suspense, by the passion she could develope icin action – such were her gifts. Add to these the charms of her youth, the love borne to her by all her comrades; – and the loss of her voice, followed by the almost desperate efforts made by her to recover it, and her disastrous final appearance when no force of will could torture destroyed Nature into even a momentary resuscitation, – make up one of those tragedies into which a fearful sum of wrecked hope and despair and anguish enters. Hers is a history, if all tales are true, too dark to be repeated, even with the honest purpose, not of pandering to an evil curiosity, but of pointing out the snares and pitfalls which lie in wait for the ''artiste'', and of inquiring, for the sake of Art as well as of Humanity (the two are inseparable), if there be no protection against them, – no means for their avoidance?Chorley 1844
p. 188


References

Notes References Cited sources * Barzun, Jacques (1969). ''Berlioz and the romantic century'' (3rd edition, 2 volumes). New York: Columbia University Press. . * Berlioz, Hector; Cairns, David, editor and translator (2002). ''The memoirs of Hector Berlioz'' (first published in a different format in 1969). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. . * Bouvet, Charles (1927). ''Cornélie Falcon'' (in French). Paris: Alcan
View formats and editions
at
OCLC OCLC, Inc. See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was founded in 1967 as the ...
. * Braud, Barthélémy (1913). "Une reine de chant: Cornélie Falcon". ''Bulletin historique, scientifique, littéraire, artistique et agricole illustré'' 3: 73–108. Le-Puy-en-Velay: Société scientifique et agricole de la Haute-Loire. . Copy at Commons. * Cairns, David (1999). ''Berlioz. Volume Two. Servitude and greatness 1832–1869''. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. . * Chorley, Henry F. (1844). ''Music and Manners in France and Germany: A Series of Travelling Sketches of Art and Society'' (volume one of three). London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longman's
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at
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
. * Chouquet, Gustave (1873). ''Histoire de la musique dramatique en France'' (in French). Paris: Didot
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at
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
. * Clayton, Ellen Creathorne (1865). ''Queens of Song. Being Memoirs of Some of the Most Celebrated Female Vocalists Who Have Performed on the Lyric Stage from the Earliest Days of Opera to the Present Time''. New York: Harper & Bros
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at
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
. * Desarbres, Nérée (1868). ''Deux siècles à l'Opéra (1669–1868)'' (in French). Paris: E. Dentu
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at
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
. * Fétis, F.-J. (1862). ''Biographie universelle des musiciens'' (in French), second edition, volume 3. Paris: Didot
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at
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
. * Gourret, Jean (1987). ''Dictionnaire des cantatrices de l'Opéra de Paris'' (in French). Paris: Albatros. . * Holoman, D. Kern (1989). ''Berlioz''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. . * Jordan, Ruth (1994). ''Fromental Halévy: His Life & Music, 1799–1862''. London: Kahn & Averill. . * Kelly, Thomas Forrest (2004). "Les Huguenots" in ''First Nights at the Opera''. New Haven: Yale University Press. . * Kuhn, Laura, editor (1992). ''Baker's Dictionary of Opera''. New York: Schirmer Books. . * Kutsch, K. J.; Riemens, Leo (2003). ''
Großes Sängerlexikon ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The fi ...
'' (fourth edition, in German). Munich: K. G. Saur. . * Lajarte, Théodore (1878). ''Bibliothèque musicale du Théâtre de l'Opéra'', volume 2 793–1876 Paris: Librairie des Bibliophiles
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. * Meyerbeer, Giacomo; Letellier, Robert Ignatius, translator and editor (1999). ''The Diaries of Giacomo Meyerbeer. Volume 1: 1791–1839''. Madison, New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. . * Parsons, Charles H. (1993). ''Opera Premieres: An Index of Casts/Performances'', volume 15 in the series ''The Mellen Opera Index''. Lewiston, New York: The Edward Mellen Press. . * Pierre, Constant, editor (1900). ''Le Conservatoire national de musique et de déclamation. Documents historiques et administratifs''. Paris: Imprimerie National. 1031 pages
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Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
. * Pitou, Spire (1990). ''The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers. Growth and Grandeur, 1815–1914''. New York: Greenwood Press. . * Robinson, Philip (1992). "Falcon, (Marie) Cornélie", vol. 2, p. 110, in ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...
'' (4 volumes). London: Macmillan. . * Robinson, Philip; Walton, Benjamin (2001). ''Falcon, (Marie) Cornélie'' in
Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...
(subscription only, consulted 12 June 2011). Also in Sadie and Tyrell 2001. * Sadie, Stanley, editor; John Tyrell; executive editor (2001). ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...
'', 2nd edition. London: Macmillan. (hardcover). (eBook). * Smart, Mary Ann (2003). "Roles, reputations,shadows: singers at the Opéra, 1828-1849", pp. 108–128 in '' The Cambridge Companion to Grand Opera'', ed. David Charlton, Cambridge:Cambridge University Press . * Somerset-Ward, Richard (2004). ''Angels and Monsters: Male and Female Sopranos in the Story of Opera, 1600–1900''. New Haven: Yale University Press. . *
Warrack, John John Hamilton Warrack (born 9 February 1928) is an English music critic, writer on music, and oboist. Career Born in London, Warrack is the son of Scottish conductor and composer Guy Warrack and Jacynth Mary Ellerton. He was educated at Winchest ...
and West, Ewan (1992). ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. . * Zimmermann, Reiner (1998). ''Giacomo Meyerbeer: Eine Biografie nach Dokumenten'' (in German). Berlin: Parthas. .


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Falcon, Marie Cornelie 1814 births 1897 deaths French operatic sopranos Singers from Paris Conservatoire de Paris alumni Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 19th-century French women opera singers