Cyril and Libbye Hellier (born January 21, 1952) are

identical twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

and American 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 ...

s. Natives of

Houma, Louisiana Houma ( ) is the largest city in and the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is also the largest principal city of the Houma– Bayou Cane– Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. The city's governme ...

, they are the great-grandchildren of the

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

John Henry Hellier. The sopranos are

Nicholls State University Nicholls State University is a public university in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Founded in 1948, Nicholls is part of the University of Louisiana System. Originally named Francis T. Nicholls Junior College, the university is named for Francis T. Nichol ...

's Department of Music graduates, where they appeared in a 1980 production of Menotti's ''Amahl and the Night Visitors'', with Cyril singing the part of Amahl. Earlier that year, however, they formally debuted in a production of Puccini's ''Suor Angelica'' (with Libbye essaying the name role), at

Loyola University of the South Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the nam ...

. After a hiatus of seven years, the Helliers returned to the stage for the title roles of Humperdinck's ''

Hänsel und Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...

'', for

The New Opera Theatre The New Opera Theatre was a New Orleans–based opera company founded in 1986, with conductor Louise LaBruyère as Music Director and stage director Brian Morgan serving as Artistic Director. It specialized in experimental productions of both anci ...

, New Orleans. In the 1988-89 season, they alternated as Bastienne in the child Mozart's ''

Bastien und Bastienne ' (''Bastien and Bastienne''), Köchel catalogue, K. 50 (revised in 1964 to K. 46b) is a one-act singspiel, a comic opera, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. ' was one of Mozart's earliest operas, written in 1768 when he was only twelve years old. It wa ...

'' for the same ensemble. In the final season of The New Opera Theatre, they appeared in a Benefit Concert also featuring Natalia Rom. In April 1991, the Helliers were soloists in

Part III Part Three, Part 3 or Part III may refer to: Music * ''Part 3'' (KC and the Sunshine Band album) * ''Part III'' (112 album) (2001 album), R&B album by 112 * " Part Three into Paper Walls", a song by Russell Morris Television * "Part 3" (''True ...

of Handel's ''Messiah'' (in the Foundling Hospital Anthem version), at St Francis de Sales Cathedral, Houma. In October 1992, the sopranos made their New York debuts, as Kindred (Cyril) and Cousin (Libbye) in the New York premiere of Louise LaBruyère's ''Everyman'', after the

Mystery Play Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represe ...

, for

Opera Quotannis Opera Quotannis (OQ) was a New York-based opera company which was founded in 1990, with conductor Bart Folse as music director and stage director Brian Morgan (formerly of The New Opera Theatre) serving as artistic director. It specialized in experi ...

, at the Church of St Paul the Apostle at Lincoln Center. The production then traveled to New Orleans. In recent years, the twins have been heard in the celebrated " Katrina Memorial Concerts," at the Church of

Our Lady of Good Counsel Our Mother of Good Counsel () formerly known as Our Lady of Paradise is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a purported miraculous painting of the Madonna and Child enshrined within the namesake Minor Basilica at ...

, in the Garden District of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Also featured at those Concerts was the soprano

Phyllis Treigle Phyllis Treigle (born May 6, 1960) is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and is a noted American soprano, and the daughter of the bass-baritone Norman Treigle. She graduated from Loyola University of the South's College of Music and made her pro ...

. Their most recent appearance was at "A Christmas Concert," at St Stephen Church (now a

Minor Basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

), in New Orleans, in 2009, at which they performed a duet by

Peter Cornelius Carl August Peter Cornelius (24 December 1824 – 26 October 1874) was a German composer, writer about music, poet and translator. Life He was born in Mainz to Carl Joseph Gerhard (1793–1843) and Friederike (1789–1867) Cornelius, actors in ...

References

* ''Houma'', by Thomas Blum Cobb & Mara Currie,

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American Publishing, publisher of neighborhood, local history, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs th ...

, 2004. * "'Incredibly beautiful': Twin sopranos give listeners a double-take," by Laura McKnight, ''The Courier'', August 13, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hellier, Cyril and Libbye Identical twin females American operatic sopranos 1952 births Living people American identical twins 21st-century American women