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

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

and American operatic sopranos. 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

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge ...

John Henry Hellier. The sopranos are graduates of

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. Nicho ...

's Department of Music, 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 Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name of the Jesuit founder, Saint Igna ...

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

Hänsel und Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in Grimms' Fairy Tales, ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little ...

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

Bastien und Bastienne ' (''Bastien and Bastienne''), 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 was allegedly commi ...

'' for the same ensemble. In the final season of The New Opera Theatre, they appeared in a Benefit Concert also featuring Natalia Rom. Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel (New Orleans, 1987)

Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel (New Orleans, 1987)

In April 1991, the Helliers were soloists in Part III 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 exper ...

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

Our Lady of Good Counsel Our Lady of Good Counsel ( la, Mater boni consilii) is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, after a painting said to be miraculous, now found in the thirteenth century Augustinian church at Genazzano, near Rome, Italy. Measuring the ima ...

, in the Garden District of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

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 p ...

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

Minor Basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

), 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 i ...

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 the ...

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