Gabrielle Delphine Ugalde, née Beaucé (3 December 1829 – 19 July 1910), was a French

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 ...

and composer. She was the mother of

Marguerite Ugalde Marguerite Ugalde (née Marie Varcollier) (1862–1940) was a French mezzo-soprano. She was the daughter of the singer and theatre manager Delphine Ugalde.Forbes E. Delphine Ugalde. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London ...

.E. Forbes: "Ugalde, Delphine", in: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' (London & New York: Macmillan, 1997).

Biography

Delphine Ugalde was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. After studies with her mother and the tenor Théodore-François Moreau-Sainti in Paris, she made her debut at 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 ...

in 1848 as Angèle in Auber’s '' Le Domino noir'', followed by '' L'Ambassadrice''. She went on to create roles in several popular operas of the time including the title role in ''Galathée'' by

Victor Massé Victor Massé (; born Félix Marie Massé; 7 March 1822 – 5 July 1884) was a French composer. Biography Massé was born in Lorient (Morbihan) and studied at the Paris Conservatoire, winning the Prix de Rome in 1844 for his cantata ''Le Rénég ...

on 14 April 1852, Virginie in '' Le Caïd'' by Thomas on 3 January 1849 and Coraline in '' Le Toréador'' on 18 May 1849. After a break, she returned for ''Psyché'' (Eros) by Thomas on 26 January 1857. She sang in Auber's '' L’Enfant prodigue'' in London in 1851. At the Paris Opéra she sang Alice in ''

Robert le diable ''Robert le diable'' (''Robert the Devil'') is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831, to a libretto written in French by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. ''Robert le diable'' is regarded as one of the first ...

'' in 1851 and Leonora in '' Il Trovatore'' (1858). In 1858, she made her debut 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). ...

, where she sang Suzanne in '' Les Noces de Figaro'', Carabosse Mélodine in ''La Fée Carabosse'' by Massé (28 February 1859), Blondine in '' L'Enlèvement au Sérail'' (1859), Martine in ''Ma tante dort'' (21 Jan 1860), and the title role in ''Gil Blas'' (24 March 1860). Her final benefit performance on 14 May 1860 was a lavish affair with, as well as many popular singers, contributions from Massé,

Sarasate Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (; 10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908), commonly known as Pablo de Sarasate, was a Spanish violinist, composer and conductor of the Romantic period. His best known works include ''Zigeunerweisen' ...

and

Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

. She returned briefly in 1865 to sing Papagena. In February 1861, Ugalde escaped a serious stage accident while singing in a performance of ''Le Caïd'' in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

. From 1863, she sang at the

Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens () is a Parisian theatre founded in 1855 by the composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers ...

(''

Orphée aux enfers ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act " opéra bouffon" at the Th ...

'', '' Les Bavards''), including her own operetta ''La Halte au moulin'' (1867), retired from the stage in 1871, but performed again in the sole role of her comic opera ''Seule'' in 1873. Ugalde took over the direction of the Bouffes-Parisiens in 1885 and for her first production – ''

La Béarnaise La Béarnaise () is an opéra comique in three acts of 1885, with music by André Messager and a French libretto by Eugène Leterrier and Albert Vanloo. Wagstaff J. André Messager. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and ...

'' by Messager – brought

Jeanne Granier Jeanne Granier (; 31 March 1852 – 18 or 19 December 1939) was a French soprano, born and died in Paris, whose career was centred on the French capital.Gänzl K. Jeanne Granier. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London an ...

out of semi-retirement for the double part of Jacquette/Jacquet.A. Vanloo: ''Sur le plateau: Souvenirs d'une librettiste'' (Paris, 1913). Among her pupils were her daughter

and Marie Sass. Ugalde died in Paris.

Compositions

Operas * ''La Halte au moulin''. Opéra comique en 1 acte (Constant Jardry), Paris: E. Gérard et Cie., 1868. See vocal score a
Gallica
* ''Seule''. Opéra comique à un seul personnage, chanté par Mme Ugalde ( Francis Tourte), Paris: A. O'Kelly, 1873. Vocal music * ''Vingt Mélodies'' (Adrien Dézamy), Paris: Louis Gregh, 1878. * ''L'Elève de St Cyr'' (

Eugène Leterrier Eugène Leterrier (; 1843 – 22 December 1884 in Paris) was a French librettist. Leterrier worked at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris but then turned to the theatre. He mainly collaborated in writing libretti with Albert Vanloo. Their working relat ...

, Albert Vanloo), Paris: Enoch frères et Costallat, 1882. * ''Le Bal des roses''. Rondeau (M. Klanko), Paris: Choudens fils, 1889. * ''Tantum ergo'' (bibl.), Paris: Choudens fils, 1889. * ''Les Sabots''. Chansonnette (A. Robbé, A. Larsonneur), Paris: E. Benoit, 1892. Piano music * ''Deux Polkas brillantes'', Paris: Au Ménestrel, Henri Heugel, 1851.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ugalde, Delphine 1829 births 1910 deaths 19th-century French classical composers 19th-century French women singers 19th-century French women composers French women classical composers French operatic sopranos French theatre directors French women theatre directors Musicians from Paris French opera managers