Léontine de Maësen (15 July 1835 – 1906) was a Belgian

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 ...

active on the

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

stages of France from 1858 to 1868. She is most remembered today for having created the role of Leïla in

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, '' Carmen'', which has become ...

's 1863 opera, ''

Les pêcheurs de perles ' (, ''The Pearl Fishers'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performan ...

''.

Life and career

Born Léontine Van der Maësen d'Avionpuits in Esneux, Belgium, she was the daughter of the crown prosecutor in

Verviers Verviers (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also the cent ...

. Her father died when she was still a young girl, and after his death she entered the

Royal Conservatory of Liège The Royal Conservatory of Liège (RCL) () is a historic conservatory in Liège, Belgium. It is one of four conservatories in the French Community of Belgium that offers higher education courses in music and theatre. Located at 29 Piercot Forgeu ...

where she studied singing with Théophile Vercken. She then continued her studies 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 ...

with Laure Cinti-Damoreau and later 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 ...

. De Maësen made her stage debut in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

during the 1858 season and subsequently sang there as Marguerite 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 ...

'' and Lucie in ''

Lucie de Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel ''The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

''.Heugel (11 February 1906) p. 48; Soubies (1900) p. 20 She returned in the 1861-62 season and sang with great success the title role in Massé's ''La reine Topaze'' for its first Marseille performance. During that season, she also sang in revivals of ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

'' and ''

Der Freischütz ' (Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns, J. 277, Opus number, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Johann Fried ...

''. After performances in

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, she was engaged by

Léon Carvalho Léon Carvalho (18 January 1825 – 29 December 1897) was a French impresario and stage director. Biography Born Léon Carvaille in Port Louis, British Mauritius, he came to France at an early age. He studied at the Paris Conservatory an ...

for his

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). ...

company in Paris, where in 1863 she created the role of Leïla in Bizet's ''

''. Her performance in the premiere was a sensation with the audience, according to the critic in ''

Le Guide musical ''Le Guide musical'' (English: The Music Guide) was a weekly French-language Belgian and French classical music periodical founded 1 March 1855 in Brussels by Peter Bernhard Schott (1821–1873), of the Brussels music publishing house Schott frèr ...

'', who went on to praise "the beauty of her voice, the perfection of her singing, her personal charm, and her talent as actress." Bizet would later dedicate his 1868 ''

mélodie A ''mélodie'' () is a form of French art song, arising in the mid-19th century. It is comparable to the German '' Lied''. A ''chanson'', by contrast, is a folk or popular French song. The literal meaning of the word in the French language is " ...

'', "Rêve de la bien-aimée" (Dream of the beloved), to her. After ''Les pêcheurs de perles'', she remained with the Théâtre Lyrique company, creating the roles of Christel in Edmond Chérouvrier's ''Le roi des mines'' and Anita in

Poniatowski The House of Poniatowski (plural: ''Poniatowscy'') is a prominent Polish family that was part of the nobility of Poland. A member of this family, Stanisław Poniatowski, was elected as King of Poland and reigned from 1764 until his abdicati ...

's ''L'aventurier'' (both in 1865) as well as singing Gilda in ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'', Norina in ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is a Gaetano Donizetti opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts, with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's oper ...

'', and the title role in ''

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) ** Norma Lizbeth Ramos, a Mexican bullying victim Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral ...

''. In the late 1860s she married Alfred Rabaud, a wealthy businessman and patron of the arts from Marseille, and retired from the stage. With her husband she ran a

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

frequented by many young composers of the day and devoted herself to charity in her later years. Alfred Rabaud died in 1886. Léontine lived on for another 20 years, dying in Marseille at the age of 70. Her younger sister Camilla was also a well-known soprano who sang in Belgium, France and Italy.Masson and Barré (1913) p. 412; Heugel (11 February 1906) p. 48

Notes and references

Sources

* *Heugel, Henri (11 February 1906)
"Nécrologie"
''Le Ménestrel'', Vol. 72, No. 6, p. 48 *''

'' (13 February 1862)
"Belgique"
Vol. 7, No. 50, p. 2 *Masson, Paul and Barré, Henri (1913).
"Rabaud (Alfred)"
''Les Bouches-du-Rhône: Encyclopédie départementale'', Part 2, Vol. 11, p. 412. Archives départementales les Bouches-du-Rhône *Ruelle, Jules (8 October 1863)
"France"
''

'', Vol. 9, No. 41, p. 3 *Soubies, Albert (1900)
''Histoire de la musique''
E. Fammarion {{DEFAULTSORT:Maesen, Leontine de 1835 births 1906 deaths Belgian operatic sopranos People from Esneux 19th-century Belgian women opera singers