Victoria Balfe (1 September 1835 or 1837 – 22 January 1871) was a French noblewoman and singer. Balfe was also known as Victoire Crampton and Victoire Fernández de Velasco, duchess of Frías. She was the second daughter of the composer

Michael William Balfe Michael William Balfe (15 May 1808 – 20 October 1870) was an Irish composer, best remembered for his operas, especially ''The Bohemian Girl''. After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to co ...

and his wife, the singer Lina Roser. She was born in the

rue de la Victoire The rue de la Victoire is a street in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The former name of the street was "rue Chantereine", which means "singing frogs", after the many frogs in the area as the quarter was swampy. The street took the name "rue de l ...

, Paris. Her father trained her as a singer, and she studied the piano at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as 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 ...

. She later studied in London, with Sterndale Bennett and Manuel García, and in Italy. She first appeared in London under

Frederick Gye Frederick Gye (the younger) (1810–1878) was an English businessman and opera manager who for many years ran what is now the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Life Gye, son of Frederick Gye (the elder), was born at Finchley, Middlesex, in 18 ...

's management at the Lyceum Theatre on 28 May 1857, as Amina in ''

La sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...

''. On 31 March 1860, she was married to Sir John Fiennes Twisleton Crampton, 2nd Baronet, the British minister to Russia. The marriage was annulled on her petition on 20 November 1863 on grounds of impotence.''The Times'', 21 November 1863 In 1864, she married José Bernardin Fernández de Velasco, duke of Frías, a grandee of Spain. On 2 January 1871, she died in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. She was buried in

Burgos Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos ( es, Santa Iglesia Basílica Catedral Metropolitana de Santa María de Burgos) is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in the historical center of the Spanish city of Burgos. Its official n ...

, leaving behind three children.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balfe, Victorian 1837 births 1871 deaths 19th-century French women singers 19th-century Spanish women singers Singers from Paris Spanish duchesses French people of Irish descent French expatriates in Spain Wives of baronets