Lucille Tostée (1837- 1874)
was a French
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 ...
, associated with
opéra-bouffe in Paris and the US in the mid-19th century, particularly in the works of
Offenbach.
[Gänzl K. ''The Encyclopaedia of the Musical Theatre.'' Blackwell, Oxford, 1994.]
Life and career
Tostée's first role at the
Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens was as Scipionne in ''Les vivandières de la grande-armée'' in 1859, swiftly followed by a revival of ''
La rose de Saint-Flour'',
and she remained a star in the Paris opéra-bouffe from the early 1860s to her death.
She created roles in Offenbachs's ''
Le pont des soupirs
''Le pont des soupirs '' ("The Bridge of Sighs") is an opéra bouffe (or operetta) set in Venice, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1861. The French language, French libretto was written by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. ...
'' (Amoroso, 1861), ''
Les bavards'' (Béatrix, 1862), and ''
Il signor Fagotto
''Il signor Fagotto'' is a one-act opérette by Jacques Offenbach to a French libretto by Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter and Étienne Tréfeu, first performed in 1863. The story of a father outwitted and true love winning is set within "a burl ...
'' (Fabricio, 1863). She toured with the Bouffes company to Vienna in 1861 and 1862, appearing at the Theater am Franz-Josefs-Kai.
In 1867 she travelled to New York to appear at the Théâtre Français, starring in ''
Geneviève de Brabant
''Geneviève de Brabant'' () is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1859. The plot is based on the medieval legend of Genevieve of Brabant.
For the 1867 version two additional characters, men-at-ar ...
'', ''
La belle Hélène
''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy's elopement with Paris (mythology ...
'', ''
Lischen et Fritzchen'' and ''
Orphée aux Enfers
''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act " opéra bouffon" at the Th ...
''. Later the emergence of
Zulma Bouffar
Zulma Madeleine Boufflar, known as Zulma Bouffar, (24 May 1841 – 20 January 1909), was a French soprano singer and actress, associated with the opéra-bouffe of Paris in the second half of the 19th century who enjoyed a successful career a ...
diminished her opportunities.
Other creations included Gotte in the collaborative work ''Les musiciens de l’orchestre'', Léonore in ''Le roman comique'', and Théâtre-Bouffe in ''La tradition'' by Delibes.
[ Yon, Jean-Claude. ''Jacques Offenbach.'' Editions Gallimard, Paris, 2000.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tostee, Lucille
1837 births
1874 deaths
French operatic sopranos