Ève Lavallière (born Eugénie Marie Pascaline Fenoglio, 1 April 1866 – 10 July 1929) was a French stage actress and later a noteworthy Catholic penitent and member of the

Secular Franciscan Order The Secular Franciscan Order ( la, Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis; abbreviated OFS) is the third branch of the Franciscan Family formed by Catholic men and women who seek to observe the Gospel of Jesus by following the example of Francis of Assisi ...

Biography

Ève Lavallière was born at 8 rue Champ-de-Mars in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label=Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is the ...

. She was the daughter of Louis-Emile Fenoglio, a tailor of Neapolitan origin, and Albania-Marie Rana, who was born in

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

. At birth, her parents already had a son. Her birth was not desired, and she was placed, up to school age, with a local family of peasants. At school age, however, she was enrolled by her parents in a private school of excellent reputation. After the death of her parents in tragic circumstances and running away from home she arrived in Paris as a teenager. She became an actress renowned in the

Belle Époque The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque (; French for "Beautiful Epoch") is a period of French and European history, usually considered to begin around 1871–1880 and to end with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era o ...

, including the

Théâtre des Variétés The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974. History It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoisell ...

in Paris. From 1917, she moved to the castle of Choisille, at Chanceaux-sur-Choisille,

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. She became a Franciscan

tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non- avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

, a member of the

Secular Franciscans The Secular Franciscan Order ( la, Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis; abbreviated OFS) is the third branch of the Franciscan Family formed by Catholic men and women who seek to observe the Gospel of Jesus by following the example of Francis of Assisi ...

or Third Order of St Francis. She is buried in Thuillières where she died in 1929.

Theater

Her most famous roles were in the following: Sem Lavalliere 1902

* 1892 : '' La Vie parisienne'' by

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''T ...

Henri Meilhac Henri Meilhac (23 February 1830 – 6 July 1897) was a French dramatist and opera librettist, best known for his collaborations with Ludovic Halévy on Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach, as well as Jules Massene ...

Ludovic Halévy Ludovic Halévy (1 January 1834 – 7 May 1908) was a French author and playwright, best known for his collaborations with Henri Meilhac on Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach. Biography Ludovic Halévy was born in ...

, * 1896 : ''Le Carillon'' by

Ernest Blum Ernest Blum (15 August 1836 – 18 September 1907) was a French playwright. Biography He made his debut as a writer at the age of sixteen with ''Une femme qui mord''. As a journalist, he was associated with ''Le Charivari'', '' Le Rappel'', ''Le ...

and Paul Ferrier, Théâtre des Variétés * 1897 : ''Paris qui Marche'', a review by

Hector Monréal Hector Monréal (17 July 1839 – 20 May 1910) was a French illustrator, chansonnier and playwright, mostly known for his song '' Frou-frou''. A draftsman at the French Ministry of War, he left this position in 1862 to engage as an actor for the ...

and Henri Blondeau, Théâtre des Variétés * 1898 : ''Les Petites Barnett'' by

Paul Gavault Paul Armand Marcel Gavault (1 September 1866 - 25 December 1951) was a French dramatist, playwright and former director of the théâtre de l'Odéon. Biography He enjoyed a hit with his 1906 comic play '' Mademoiselle Josette, My Woman'' wh ...

and

Louis Varney Louis Varney (; 30 May 1844, New Orleans, Louisiana – 20 August 1908, Cauterets, France) was a French composer. Biography Louis Varney was the son of Alphonse Varney, a French conductor at the Bouffes-Parisiens and at the Grand Thé� ...

, Théâtre des Variétés * 1899 : ''

La Belle Hélène ''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen's elopement with Paris, which set off the ...

'' by

, booklet by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, Théâtre des Variétés * 1900 : ''Mademoiselle George'' by

Victor de Cottens Victor de Cottens (21 August 1862 – 26 February 1956) was a French dramatist, librettist, stage director, and theatre critic. De Cottens was born in Paris. For the Folies Bergère, he directed every edition of the ''Revue des Folies-Ber ...

and Pierre Veber, music by Louis Vernet, Théâtre des Variétés * 1901 : ''La Veine'' by Alfred Capus, Théâtre des Variétés * 1902 : ''Les Deux Écoles'' by Alfred Capus, Théâtre des Variétés * 1903 : ''Le Sire de Vergy'' by

Gaston Arman de Caillavet Gaston Arman de Caillavet (13 March 1869 – 13 January 1915) was a French playwright. Early life Gaston Arman de Caillavet was born on 13 March 1869. He was the son of Albert Arman de Caillavet and Léontine Lippmann. His maternal grandfat ...

, Théâtre des Variétés * 1903 : ''Paris aux Variétés'', revue by

, Théâtre des Variétés * 1904 : ''La Boule'' by

and

, Théâtre des Variétés * 1904 : ''Monsieur de la Palisse'' by

Robert de Flers Robert Pellevé de La Motte-Ango, marquis de Flers (25 November 1872, Pont-l'Évêque, Calvados – 30 July 1927, Vittel) was a French playwright, opera librettist, and journalist.Pierre Barillet, ''Les Seigneurs du rire: Flers – Caillavet – ...

and

, music by

Claude Terrasse Claude Terrasse (27 January 1867 – 30 June 1923) was a French composer of operettas. Terrasse was born in L'Arbresle, Rhône. He became known by writing the music for the play ''Ubu Roi'' by Alfred Jarry in 1896. In Paris, his brother-in-law, t ...

, Théâtre des Variétés * 1904 : ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original li ...

'' as ''La Chauve-Souris'' (Prince Orlofsky), words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy, music by

Johann Strauss Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...

* 1904 : '' Barbe-bleue'' by

, libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, Théâtre des Variétés * 1905 : '' L'Âge d'Or'' by

Georges Feydeau Georges-Léon-Jules-Marie Feydeau (; 8 December 1862 – 5 June 1921) was a French playwright of the era known as the Belle Époque. He is remembered for his farces, written between 1886 and 1914. Feydeau was born in Paris to middle-class parent ...

and Maurice Desvallières, Théâtre des Variétés * 1905 : '' Miss Helyett'', an opérette in 3 acts, text by Maxime Boucheron, music by

Edmond Audran Achille Edmond Audran (12 April 184017 August 1901) was a French composer best known for several internationally successful comic operas and operettas. After beginning his career in Marseille as an organist, Audran composed religious music an ...

, Théâtre des Variétés * 1905 : ''La Petite Bohême'', an opera in 3 acts, text by Paul Ferrier after Henry Murger, music by Henri Hirchmann, Théâtre des Variétés * 1906 : ''Miquette et sa mère'' by

and

, Théâtre des Variétés * 1907 : ''Le Faux-pas'' by , Théâtre des Variétés * 1908 : ''Le Roi'' by

, Emmanuel Arène,

* 1908 : ''L'Oiseau blessé'' by Alfred Capus,

Théâtre de la Renaissance The name Théâtre de la Renaissance has been used successively for three distinct Parisian theatre companies. The first two companies, which were short-lived enterprises in the 19th century, used the Salle Ventadour, now an office building on t ...

* 1909 : ''Un ange'' by Alfred Capus, Théâtre des Variétés * 1910 : ''Le Bois sacré'' by

and

, Théâtre des Variétés * 1911 : ''Les Favorites'' by Alfred Capus, Théâtre des Variétés * 1912 : ''Les Petits'' by Lucien Népoty, Théâtre Antoine * 1913 : '' La Dame de chez Maxim'' by

, Théâtre des Variétés * 1913 : ''Le Tango'', a work of

Jean Richepin Jean Richepin (; 4 February 1849 – 12 December 1926) was a French poet, novelist and dramatist. Biography Son of an army doctor, Jean Richepin was born 4 February 1849 at Médéa, French Algeria. At school and at the École Normale Supér ...

Théâtre de l'Athénée The Théâtre de l'Athénée is a theatre at 7 rue Boudreau, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Renovated in 1996 and classified a historical monument, the Athénée inherits an artistic tradition marked by the figure of Louis Jouvet who dir ...

* 1914 : ''Ma tante d'Honfleur'' by

, Théâtre des Variétés

References

* (Spanish) Omer Englebert, "''Vida y conversion de Eva Lavallière''", Mundo Moderno, Biografías y Memorias, Buenos Aires, 1953 * (Spanish) José María Hernández Gamell, "''Una mujer extraordinaria. Vida y conversion de la famosa artista de Paris, Eva Lavallière''". Ed. Caballeros Comendadores de Santa Teresita del Niño Jesús y de la Santa Faz, Madrid, 1944; reissue, Afrodisio Aguado, Madrid, 1945 * (French) Jean-Paul Claudel, ''Ève Lavallière : Orpheline de la terre'' ("Ève Lavallière: orphan of the Earth"), Gérard Louis Editor, 2007 * (English) L.L. McReavy ''A Modern Magdalen, Eva Lavalliere (1866-1929)'' (1934) * (English) Charlotte Kelly, ''A Saint of the Stage - Eve Lavalliere'' Australian Catholic Truth Society No. 775 (1947) http://www.pamphlets.org.au/cts-pamphlets/9-austraila/738-a-saint-of-the-stage-eve-lavalliere.html

Biography

Theater

References

External links