Martha Angelici (22 May 1907 – 11 September 1973) was a French operatic
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 ...
of
Corsica
Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
n origin, particularly associated with the French lyric repertoire.
Angelici was born in
Cargèse
Cargèse (; or ; ; ) is a village and '' commune'' in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the west coast of the island of Corsica, 27 km north of Ajaccio. , the commune had a population of 1,325.
The village was established at the ...
. While still very young she moved with her family to Belgium, where she studied voice in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
with Alfred Mahy. She began singing on radio for the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourgian audiences in 1933, and gave her first public concert at the Kurzaal of
Ostend
Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...
in 1934. Her first stage performance was 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 ...
, as Mimi in ''
La bohème
''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...
'', in 1936.
She made her debut at the
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...
in 1938, where she had a long and successful career, and made her debut at the
Palais Garnier
The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...
in 1953, as Micaela in ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
'', other notable roles included
Leila,
Pamina,
Nedda, etc. She made a few guest appearances at the
Monte Carlo Opera and
La Monnaie in Brussels. She was much admired in French
baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
music notably in
Rameau's ''
Les Indes galantes
is a ''ballet héroïque'', a type of Baroque music#Late baroque music (1680–1750), French Baroque opera-ballet, by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Louis Fuzelier. In its final form it comprised an allegory, allegorical prologue and fou ...
''.
Personal life and death
She was married to the director of the Opéra-Comique, François Agostini. She died in
Ajaccio
Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...
, aged 66.
Selected recordings
* 1950 – Bizet – ''Carmen'' –
Solange Michel,
Raoul Jobin, Martha Angelici,
Michel Dens – Choeurs et Orchestre de l'Opéra-Comique,
André Cluytens
Augustin Zulma Alphonse "André" Cluytens (, ; 26 March 19053 June 1967)Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. was a Belgian-born French conducting, conductor who was active in the conce ...
–
EMI Classics
EMI Classics was a record label founded by Thorn EMI in 1990 to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogues for internationally distributed classical music releases. After Thorn EMI demerged in 1996, its recorded mus ...
* 1953 – Charpentier – Messe A Six Voix Et Symphonie ''Assumpta Est Maria'' – Martha Angelici, soprano, Solange Michel, mezzo-soprano, Jeannine Collad, alto, Jean Archimbaud, conter-tenor,
Jean Giraudeau, tenor,
Louis Noguéra, bass –
Henriette Roget, organ – Chorus of the
Jeunesses musicales de France, Louis Martini, director.
Recorded in Paris St-Eustache Church, 28–29 April 1953. Pathé DTX 140, Vox PLP-8440, Club National du Disque CND 546.
* 1955 – Bizet – ''Les pêcheurs de perles'' – Martha Angelici,
Henri Legay, Michel Dens, Louis Noguéra – Choeurs et Orchestre de l'Opéra-Comique, André Cluytens – EMI Classics
Sources
Operissimo.com* Klaus Ulrich Spiegel: "La voix de Corse. Lucidité, Douceur, Style: Martha Angelici" - HAfG Edition Hamburger Archiv
1907 births
1973 deaths
French operatic sopranos
People from Corse-du-Sud
20th-century French women opera singers
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