Anne-Elisa Alice Ducasse, was born in

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, on May 20, 1841, and died December 4, 1923, in Paris in the 9th arrondissement. She was an opera singer and teacher active in Paris.

Walsh TJ Thomas Joseph Walsh (20 November 1911 – 8 November 1988) was an Irish doctor, writer, and founder and director of the Wexford Opera Festival.Boydell, B.: "Walsh, T(homas) J(oseph)", in ''New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' (London and New York: Mac ...

. ''Second Empire Opera – The Théâtre-Lyrique Paris 1851-1870.'' John Calder Ltd, London, 1981.

Biography

Alice Ducasse is the daughter of Pierre Édouard Ducasse and Blanche Aline Pelletier. As a member of the company at the

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique () was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Paris Opera, Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien (1801–1878), Théâtre-Italien). ...

under Pasdeloup and Vizentini she sang various roles at that theatre, creating Mab in Bizet's ''

La jolie fille de Perth ''La jolie fille de Perth'' (''The Fair Maid of Perth'') is an opera in four acts by Georges Bizet (1838–1875), from a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jules Adenis, after the 1828 novel ''The Fair Maid of Perth'' by Sir W ...

'', as well as Nérine in ''

L'irato ''L'irato, ou L'emporté'' (''The Angry Man'') is an ''opéra-comique'' (styled an ''opéra parade'') in one act by the French composer Étienne Méhul with a French-language libretto by Benoît-Joseph Marsollier. It was first performed at the Th ...

'' by Méhul (November 1868), Formosa in ''En Prison'' by Guiraud (March 1869), Thérèse in ''Don Quichotte'' by Boulanger (May 1869) and Nydia in ''Le Dernier Jour de Pompéi'' by Victorin Joncières (September 1869)From Dissertation of Doctorat by Nicolas Deshoulières : L'oeuvre critique et musicale de Victorin Joncières, Paris-Sorbonne, 2018 (www.nicolasdeshoulieres.fr) Moving over to the

Opéra Comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular ''opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...

she created Léna in the 1872 premiere of ''

La princesse jaune (''The Yellow Princess''), Op. 30, is an in one act and five scenes by composer Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Louis Gallet. The opera premiered at the (Salle Favart Theatre) in Paris on 12 June 1872. Hugh Macdonald: "La prince ...

'', and Frasquita in the 1875 premiere of ''

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 ...

'', as well as singing in the first Opéra Comique performances of works premiered elsewhere: Jacqueline in ''

Le médecin malgré lui ''Le Médecin malgré lui'' (; "The doctor/physician in spite of himself") is a farce by Molière first presented in 1666 (published as a manuscript in early 1667) at le Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Saint-Honoré), théâtre du Palais-Royal ...

'' in 1872, Stéphano in ''

Roméo et Juliette ''Roméo et Juliette'' (, ''Romeo and Juliet'') is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on ''Romeo and Juliet'' by William Shakespeare. It was first performed at the Théâtre Ly ...

'' in 1873, a shepherd in the 1874 revival of ''

Le pardon de Ploërmel ''Dinorah'', originally ''Le pardon de Ploërmel'' (''The Pardon of Ploërmel''), is an 1859 French opéra comique in three acts with music by Giacomo Meyerbeer and a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. The story takes place near the rur ...

'', Nicette in the 1871 revival of ''

Le Pré aux clercs ''Le pré aux clercs'' (, ''The Clerks' Meadow'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Ferdinand Hérold with a libretto by François-Antoine-Eugène de Planard based on Prosper Mérimée's ''Chronique du temps de Charles IX'' of 1829.Pougin A ...

'' (the 1,000th performance), Mirza in the 1876 production of ''

Lalla-Roukh ''Lalla-Roukh'' is an ''opéra comique'' in two acts composed by Félicien David. The libretto by Michel Carré and Hippolyte Lucas was based on Thomas Moore's 1817 narrative poem '' Lalla Rookh''. It was first performed on 12 May 1862 by the ...

'', Rita in the 1877 revival of ''

Zampa ''Zampa'','' ou La fiancée de marbre'' (''Zampa, or the Marble Bride'') is an opéra comique in three acts by French composer Ferdinand Hérold, with a libretto by Mélesville. The overture to the opera is one of Hérold's most famous works an ...

'' (500th performance) and Papagena in the 1879 production of ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

''.Wolff, Stéphane. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique 1900–1950.'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953. Other roles included Bertrand in the 500th anniversary ('travesty') performance at the Opéra-Comique of ''Les Rendez-Vous Bourgeois'' by Isouard in March 1873, Georgette in ''

Le val d'Andorre ''Le val d'Andorre'' (The Valley of Andorra) is an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy with a libretto by Saint-Georges. Although today almost completely forgotten, it was one of Halévy's greatest successes, running for 165 performances and rest ...

'' in October 1875, and Gillotin in ''Gille et Gillotin'' in March 1877. In October 1880, Ducasse sang Germaine in the premiere of ''Monsieur de Floridor'' at the Opéra-Comique. After appearing as Marceline in ''The Marriage of Figaro'' in May 1882, Ducasse left the stage to take up teaching.Soubies A, Malherbe C. ''Histoire de l'opéra comique — La seconde salle Favart 1840–1887.'' Flammarion, Paris, 1893. One of her students is the actress

Amélie Diéterle Amélie Diéterle (20 February 1871 – 20 January 1941) was a French actress and opera singer. She was one of the popular actresses of the Belle Époque until the beginning of the Années Folles. Amélie Diéterle inspired the poets Léon D ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ducasse, Alice 1841 births 1923 deaths Chilean emigrants Immigrants to France Singers from Valparaíso French operatic sopranos