Marie-Jeanne Larrivée, born Marie-Jeanne Lemière (
Sedan, Ardennes
Sedan () is a commune in the Ardennes department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. It is also the chef-lieu (administrative centre) of the arrondissement of the same name.
Sedan is notable as the site of two major battles between ...
, 1733 –
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 ...
, 1786) 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 ...
.
Biography
Marie-Jeanne Larrivée was a prominent member of the
Paris Opera
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 ...
company, where she made her debut in 1750 under the name of Mlle Lemière (also spelt Lemierre or Le Mière). She was the sister of violinist Jacques Lemière and cellist Jacques-Louis Lemière both engaged at the Paris Opera in the same period. Her parents were Louis-Michel Lemière, a wig maker, and Julienne Lemière.
After performing several light roles as a cover, at the beginning of 1752 Lemière left the theater scene. She probably intended to improve her voice, but her five-year absence from the stage was mainly related to her stormy relationship with the
Duke of Gramont
The title of Duke of Gramont (''duc de Gramont'') is a French List of French dukedoms, dukedom and former List of French peerages, peerage. It was created in 1648 for French Marshal Antoine III de Gramont.
History
The family of Gramont was a Kin ...
, whose abusive behaviour, even bordering on rape, darkened this period of her life. In July 1752 she gave birth to her first daughter, Marie-Antoinette, but neither of the parents acknowledged her, and only her grandfather offered himself as godfather. In 1756 she finally managed to break up with the Duke and the following year she was readmitted to the Opéra with increased salary.
The parts played by Mlle Lemière included roles in the operas ''Silvie'',
''
Omphale (Cardonne)'', ''Ovide et Julie'' (as Julie), ''Salimes'' and ''
Céphale et Procris'' (
Grétry). Larrivée-Lemière retired from the theater in 1777. In 1762 she had married her partner,
Henri Larrivée, and had two daughters: pianist, harpsichordist and composer
Camille Larrivée
Mme. Delaval or Madame De La Valle, birthname Adélaïde-Suzanne-Camille Larrivée, (October 12, 1763 – c. 1804) was a French harpist, pianist and composer. Delaval was born in Paris, France to opera singers Henri Larrivée and Marie-Jeanne Larr ...
and violinist
Agathe Elisabeth Henriette Larrivée. In 1767, the Larrivées separated.
[(in French) ] Their two daughters went on to live with their aunt and guardian, Elisabeth-Henriette Larrivée and toured through
French provinces
Under the Ancien Régime, the Kingdom of France was subdivided in multiple different ways (judicial, military, ecclesiastical, etc.) into several administrative units, until the National Constituent Assembly adopted a more uniform division into d ...
in concerts.
Marie-Jeanne Larrivée-Lemière was also considered one of the most esteemed singers of the ''
Concert Spirituel
The Concert Spirituel () was one of the first public concert series in existence. The concerts began in Paris in 1725 and ended in 1790. Later, concerts or series of concerts with the same name occurred in multiple places including Paris, Vienna ...
'', where she regularly performed between 1750 and 1763, and then more irregularly until 1778, when she retired with a pension of 2,000 francs annually.
[(in German) Großes Sängerlexikon, Volume 4, page 2617, ''Larrivée-Le Mière (Lemierre, Le Mière) Marie-Jeanne.''()]
Roles debuted
References
Sources
* Sylvie Bouissou, ''Larrivée, Marie-Jeanne Lemière, épouse'', in ''id.'', Pascal Denécheau e France Marchal-Ninosque (eds), ''Dictionnaire de l'Opéra de Paris sous l'Ancien Régime (1669–1791)'', Paris, Classiques Garnier, 2019, III (H–O), pp. 397–400
* David Charlton ''Opera in the Age of Rousseau: Music, Confrontation, Realism'', Cambridge University Press, 2012. ()
* Félix Clément and Pierre Larousse ''Dictionnaire des Opéras'', Paris, 1881. ()
*
*
Lemière, Marie-Jeanne, voir Larrivée (1733–1786) / Noms / Autres index / Parcourir / Accueil – Portail Philidor* ''Dictionnaire de la musique en France aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles'', sous la direction de Marcelle Benoit, édition Fayard, 1992. ()
* Charles Dill ''Opera Remade, 1700–1750'', University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2016. ()
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemière, Marie-Jeanne Larrivée
1733 births
1786 deaths
People from Sedan (sub-unit of France)
French operatic sopranos
People from Sedan, Ardennes