Jeanne Gerville-Réache
Encyclopedia
Jeanne Gerville-Réache was a French opera
tic contralto
from the Belle Époque
. She possessed a remarkably beautiful voice, an excellent singing technique, and wide vocal range
which enabled her to perform several roles traditionally associated with mezzo-soprano
s in addition to contralto parts. Her career began successfully in Europe just before the turn of the twentieth century. She later came to the North America in 1907 where she worked as an immensely popular singer until her sudden death in 1915. She is particularly remembered for her portrayal of Dalila in Camille Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila
, which she helped establish as an important part of the repertory within the United States. She also notably portrayed the role of Geneviève in the world premiere of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande
in 1902.
, France. Her father was the governor of the French Caribbean islands Guadeloupe
and Martinique
, and she spent her childhood in Martinique with him and her Spanish mother. She studied in Paris under Rosine Laborde through whom she met operatic soprano
Emma Calvé
, a former pupil of Laborde's. Calvé arranged for Gerville-Réache to make her professional opera début as Orphée in Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice
at the Opéra-Comique
in 1899. Mezzo-soprano Pauline García-Viardot coached her for this first production and then continued to teach her for the next several years.
Gerville-Réache was offered a permanent place at the Opéra-Comique in 1900 and she sang there through 1902. While there she sang roles in two world premieres, Catherine in Camille Erlanger
's Le Juif polonais
(1900) and the role of Geneviève in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande in 1902. Shortly after Pelléas et Mélisande, Gerville-Réache got in a heated argument with the Opéra-Comique 's director, Albert Carré
, and she left the company. In 1903 she joined the roster at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie
in Brussels where she appeared in five operas over the next two seasons. She made her debut at the Royal Opera House
, London, in 1905 in the role of Orpheus.
In 1907, Gerville-Réache came to the United States for the first time to sing with the Manhattan Opera Company
in New York City, where she performed roles until 1910. She notably reprised the role of Geneviève in the United States premiere of Pelléas et Mélisande (1908) and gave a critically acclaimed performance as Dalila in Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila. She also sang in the world premiere of Jan Blockx
's De Herbergprinses (performed in Italian as La Princesse d'Auberge, 1909), and in the United States premiere of Richard Strauss's Elektra
(1910) as Klytaemnestra, the latter of which she did not enjoy singing. In 1910 she married Georges Gibier Rambaud who was the director of the Pasteur Institute
's branch in New York City.
From 1910 until 1912, Gerville-Réache sang with the Chicago Grand Opera Company
and appeared in operas in Boston and Philadelphia. She portrayed such roles as Dalila, the title role in Bizet's Carmen
, Brangäne in in Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde
, and Fricka in Wagner's Die Walküre
. From 1914 until 1915 she sang with the National Canadian Opera in Montreal
.
Gerville-Réache died at the early age of 32 from food poisoning in New York City. Up to this point, everything had indicated a spectacular continuation of her brilliant career and the music community lamented the loss of what several critics had deemed "one of the most beautiful voices of the century". Her voice is preserved on several recordings made with Columbia Records
and the Victor Talking Machine Company
between 1908 and 1913. She left behind her husband and two sons.
She has a great-great grandson and granddaughter living in America.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
from the Belle Époque
Belle Époque
The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring during the era of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, it was a period characterised by optimism and new technological and medical...
. She possessed a remarkably beautiful voice, an excellent singing technique, and wide vocal range
Vocal range
Vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech and language pathology, particularly in relation to the study...
which enabled her to perform several roles traditionally associated with mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
s in addition to contralto parts. Her career began successfully in Europe just before the turn of the twentieth century. She later came to the North America in 1907 where she worked as an immensely popular singer until her sudden death in 1915. She is particularly remembered for her portrayal of Dalila in Camille Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila
Samson and Delilah (opera)
Samson and Delilah , Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire...
, which she helped establish as an important part of the repertory within the United States. She also notably portrayed the role of Geneviève in the world premiere of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande
Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)
Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande...
in 1902.
Biography
Jeanne Gerville-Réache was born in OrthezOrthez
Orthez is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.It lies 40 km NW of Pau on the Southern railway to Bayonne. The town also encompasses the small village of Sainte-Suzanne thus residents of the town are called either Orthéziens or Sainte-Suzannais...
, France. Her father was the governor of the French Caribbean islands Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
and Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, and she spent her childhood in Martinique with him and her Spanish mother. She studied in Paris under Rosine Laborde through whom she met operatic soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Emma Calvé
Emma Calvé
Emma Calvé, born Rosa Emma Calvet , was a French operatic soprano.Calvé was probably the most famous French female opera singer of the Belle Époque. Hers was an international career, and she sang regularly and to considerable acclaim at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, and the Royal Opera...
, a former pupil of Laborde's. Calvé arranged for Gerville-Réache to make her professional opera début as Orphée in Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice
Orfeo ed Euridice
Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck based on the myth of Orpheus, set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing...
at the Opéra-Comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
in 1899. Mezzo-soprano Pauline García-Viardot coached her for this first production and then continued to teach her for the next several years.
Gerville-Réache was offered a permanent place at the Opéra-Comique in 1900 and she sang there through 1902. While there she sang roles in two world premieres, Catherine in Camille Erlanger
Camille Erlanger
Camille Erlanger was a Parisian-born French opera composer. He studied at the Paris Conservatory under Léo Delibes and Émile Durand, and in 1888 won the Prix de Rome for his cantata Velléda...
's Le Juif polonais
Le Juif polonais
Le Juif Polonais is an opera in three acts by Camille Erlanger composed to a libretto by Henri Cain. The libretto was adapted from the 1867 play of the same name by Erckmann-Chatrian...
(1900) and the role of Geneviève in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande in 1902. Shortly after Pelléas et Mélisande, Gerville-Réache got in a heated argument with the Opéra-Comique 's director, Albert Carré
Albert Carré
Albert Carré was a French theatre director, opera director, actor and librettist. He was the nephew of librettist Michel Carré and cousin of cinema director Michel Antoine Carré...
, and she left the company. In 1903 she joined the roster at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
in Brussels where she appeared in five operas over the next two seasons. She made her debut at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, London, in 1905 in the role of Orpheus.
In 1907, Gerville-Réache came to the United States for the first time to sing with the Manhattan Opera Company
Manhattan Opera Company
The Manhattan Opera Company was an opera company based in New York City. Active from 1906 until 1910, it was founded by Oscar Hammerstein I.The company began operations in 1906 at the Manhattan Opera House on 34th Street in New York City...
in New York City, where she performed roles until 1910. She notably reprised the role of Geneviève in the United States premiere of Pelléas et Mélisande (1908) and gave a critically acclaimed performance as Dalila in Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila. She also sang in the world premiere of Jan Blockx
Jan Blockx
Jan Blockx was a Belgian composer, pianist and teacher. He was a leader of the Flemish nationalist school in music.-Biography:...
's De Herbergprinses (performed in Italian as La Princesse d'Auberge, 1909), and in the United States premiere of Richard Strauss's Elektra
Elektra (opera)
Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which he adapted from his 1903 drama Elektra. The opera was the first of many collaborations between Strauss and Hofmannsthal...
(1910) as Klytaemnestra, the latter of which she did not enjoy singing. In 1910 she married Georges Gibier Rambaud who was the director of the Pasteur Institute
Pasteur Institute
The Pasteur Institute is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who made some of the greatest breakthroughs in modern medicine at the time, including pasteurization and vaccines for anthrax...
's branch in New York City.
From 1910 until 1912, Gerville-Réache sang with the Chicago Grand Opera Company
Chicago Grand Opera Company
Two grand opera companies in Chicago have gone by the name Chicago Grand Opera CompanyThe first Chicago Grand Opera Company produced four seasons of opera in Chicago’s Auditorium Theater from the Fall of 1910 through November 1915. It was the first resident Chicago opera company...
and appeared in operas in Boston and Philadelphia. She portrayed such roles as Dalila, the title role in Bizet's Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, Brangäne in in Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
, and Fricka in Wagner's Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
. From 1914 until 1915 she sang with the National Canadian Opera in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
Gerville-Réache died at the early age of 32 from food poisoning in New York City. Up to this point, everything had indicated a spectacular continuation of her brilliant career and the music community lamented the loss of what several critics had deemed "one of the most beautiful voices of the century". Her voice is preserved on several recordings made with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and the Victor Talking Machine Company
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
between 1908 and 1913. She left behind her husband and two sons.
She has a great-great grandson and granddaughter living in America.
Sample
- Gerville-Réache singing "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" from Samson et Dalila
Further reading
- Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5