Sophie Arnould
Encyclopedia
Sophie Arnould was a French operatic soprano
.
Born Magdeleine Sophie Arnould, she studied in Paris with Marie Fel
and La Clairon
, and made her stage debut at the Opéra de Paris on 15 December 1757 and sang there for 20 years.
She created for Christoph Wilibald Gluck the roles of Eurydice in Orphée et Eurydice and the title role in Iphigénie en Aulide
. She also obtained considerable success in operas by Jean-Philippe Rameau
, François Francoeur
, and Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny
.
According to her contemporaries, her voice was more beautiful than powerful, but she was a passionate actress. Her lack of discipline in both her professional and personal life led to a premature vocal decline, however she was able to retire in 1788 with an enviable pension of 2000 pounds (livres).
A spirited converstionalist, she was much in demand in Parisian society, and legend has it that Madame de Pompadour
told her "With such talents, you could become a Princess". She was painted by Maurice Quentin de La Tour
, and left her Souvenirs and an abundant correspondence.
wrote an opera based on her tumultuous life entitled Sophie Arnould (1927).
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...
.
Born Magdeleine Sophie Arnould, she studied in Paris with Marie Fel
Marie Fel
Marie Fel was a French opera singer, daughter of the organist Henri Fel.Marie Fel was born at Bordeaux. She made her debut at the Paris Opera in 1733 and sang regularly at the Concert Spirituel...
and La Clairon
La Clairon
La Clairon , French actress, whose real name was Clair Josèphe Hippolyte Leris, was born at Condé-sur-l'Escaut, Hainaut, the daughter of an army sergeant....
, and made her stage debut at the Opéra de Paris on 15 December 1757 and sang there for 20 years.
She created for Christoph Wilibald Gluck the roles of Eurydice in Orphée et Eurydice and the title role in Iphigénie en Aulide
Iphigénie en Aulide
Iphigénie en Aulide is an opera in three acts by Christoph Willibald Gluck, the first work he wrote for the Paris stage. The libretto was written by Leblanc du Roullet and was based on Jean Racine's tragedy Iphigénie...
. She also obtained considerable success in operas by Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau was one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the Baroque era. He replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and is also considered the leading French composer for the harpsichord of his time, alongside François...
, François Francoeur
François Francoeur
François Francœur was a French composer and violinist.-Biography:He was born in Paris, the son of Joseph Francœur, a basse de violon player and member of the 24 violons du roy. Francœur was instructed in music by his father and joined the Académie Royale de Musique as a violinist at age 15...
, and Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny
Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny
Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny was a French composer and a member of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts .He is considered alongside André Grétry and François-André Danican Philidor to have been the founder of a new musical genre, the opéra comique, laying a path for other French composers such as...
.
According to her contemporaries, her voice was more beautiful than powerful, but she was a passionate actress. Her lack of discipline in both her professional and personal life led to a premature vocal decline, however she was able to retire in 1788 with an enviable pension of 2000 pounds (livres).
A spirited converstionalist, she was much in demand in Parisian society, and legend has it that Madame de Pompadour
Madame de Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...
told her "With such talents, you could become a Princess". She was painted by Maurice Quentin de La Tour
Maurice Quentin de La Tour
Maurice Quentin de La Tour was a French Rococo portraitist who worked primarily with pastels. Among his most famous subjects were Voltaire, Rousseau, Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour.-Biography:...
, and left her Souvenirs and an abundant correspondence.
Opera by Pierné
French composer Gabriel PiernéGabriel Pierné
Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné was a French composer, conductor, and organist.-Biography:Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz in 1863. His family moved to Paris to escape the Franco-Prussian War. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, gaining first prizes for solfège, piano, organ, counterpoint and fugue...
wrote an opera based on her tumultuous life entitled Sophie Arnould (1927).