Anne, Marie, Antoinette, Cécile d'Herbez, known under the name Cécile Saint-Aubin and also Cécile Duret-Saint-Aubin, (14 October 1785 – 30 November 1862) was a French operatic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

Life

Born in Paris, she was the daughter of Augustin-Alexandre d'Herbez, called Saint-Aubin,

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

de l'

Opéra de Paris The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

and Jeanne-Charlotte Schroeder, Madame Saint-Aubin,

at the

Comédie-Italienne Comédie-Italienne () or Théâtre-Italien () are French names which have been used to refer to Italian-language theatre and opera when performed in France. The earliest recorded visits by Italian players were ''commedia dell'arte'' companies ...

and the

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 ...

. She was the elder sister of Alexandrine Saint-Aubin (1793–1867). She took lessons for three years from the composer Angelo Tarchi and enters 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 ...

to perfect his skills in the class of

Pierre-Jean Garat Pierre-Jean Garat (25 April 1764 – 1 March 1823) was a French Basque singer and nephew of Dominique Joseph Garat. He was born in Ustaritz. Garat devoted himself from an early age to the cultivation of his musical talents. Because he profess ...

She left to debut at the

Opéra Comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular ''opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...

24 May 1804 in ''Le Concert interrompu'', by Berton, where she gets a success. She plays with her mother in ''Michel-Ange'', by Nicolas Isouard, then shows herself in ''Montano et Stéphanie'', by Berton. After four or five months of stay at the Opéra-Comique, she suddenly leaves this theater only to return after an absence of about four years. She returned to the Conservatoire. On 24 September 1804, she married the violinist Marcel Duret. On 4 and 7 April 1808, she played ''Montano and Stéphanie'', on 9 April ''Le Concert interrompu'', and continued with a series of performances of these two works, after which she created the role of Florina in Nicolo's ''Cimarosa'', then took on the role of Zémire in ''Zémire et Azor''. She was accepted as a member of the Society in 1811. Isouard wrote especially for her the leading roles in ''Lully et Quinault'', ''Le Billet de loterie'', ''Jeannot et Colin'', and ''Le Magicien sans magie''. She was the rival of Antoinette Lemonnier, due to the fact that Boieldieu wrote mainly for Madame Lemonnier, Isouard mainly for her. For health reasons, she was forced to retire in 1820. Duret-Saint-Aubin died in the

9th arrondissement of Paris The 9th arrondissement of Paris (''IXe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as (; "ninth"). The arrondissement, called Opéra, is located on the right bank of th ...

aged 77, and was buried at the

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 ...

Premieres

;At the Opéra-Comique * 1808: ''Cimarosa'',

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 ...

Nicolas Isouard Nicolas Isouard (; also known as ''Nicolò'', ''Nicolò Isoiar'' or ''Nicolò de Malte''; 18 May 1773 – 23 March 1818) was a Franco-Maltese composer. Biography Born in Valletta, Malta, Isouard studied in Rabat or Mdina with Francesco Azopardi ...

, 28 June, part of Florina. * 1809: ''La Dupe de son art'' * 1809: ''Zélomir ou L'Intrigue au sérail'', part of Zélime, 25 April. * 1810: ''Cendrillon'', 3 acts opéra-féerie by

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

Charles-Guillaume Étienne Charles-Guillaume Étienne (; 5 January 177813 March 1845) was a 19th-century French playwright. Biography He was born in Chamouilley, Haute-Marne. He held various municipal offices under the Revolution and came in 1793 to Paris, where he pr ...

, 22 February, part of Clorinde. * 1811: ''Le Billet de Loterie'', 14 September, part of Adèle. * 1811: ''Le Magicien sans magie'', part of Hortense. * 1811: ''Rien de trop ou Les deux paravents'', part of Evelina. * 1811: ''Le Charme de la voix'', by , 24 January. * 1811: ''La Victime des arts'', 27 February * 1812: ''L'Homme sans façon, ou les Contrariétés'' * 1812: ''Lulli et Quinault, ou le Déjeuner impossible'', 27 February. * 1812: ''Les Aubergistes de qualité'', part of Émilie. * 1814: ''Jeannot et Colin'', 17 October, part of Thérèse. * 1816: ''Les Deux Maris'', part of Clémence.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Duret-Saint-Aubin, Cécile Conservatoire de Paris alumni French operatic sopranos 1785 births 1862 deaths Singers from Paris Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery

Life

Premieres

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