Denise Duval
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Denise Duval (23 October 192125 January 2016) 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 ...
, best known for her performances in the works of
Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...
on stage and in recital. During an international career, Duval created the roles of Thérèse in '' Les mamelles de Tirésias'' and Elle in '' La voix humaine'' and excelled in the role of Blanche de la Force in '' Dialogues of the Carmelites'',Obituary – Denise Duval. ''
Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
'', April 2016, Vol 67 No 4, p448-449.
leaving recordings of these and several other of her main roles.


Life and career

Duval 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 ...
, and attended the Collège de
Libourne Libourne (; ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the wine-making capital of northern Gironde and lies near Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. Geog ...
, appearing in the play ''Les Plus beaux yeux du monde'' by Jean Sarment. Her father, a colonel, allowed her to enrol in the theatre classes at the Conservatoire de Bordeaux, where she was spotted by the director, Gaston Poulet, who got her into the vocal classes.Laurent, François. Hommage : Denise Duval. '' Diapason'', No.644, March 2016, p16-17. From there she made her debut in ''
Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; ) is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 Cavalleria rusticana (short story), short story of the same name and subsequent ...
'' at the Grand Theatre de Bordeaux in 1942, her Santuzza described by the ''Liberté du Sud-Ouest'' critic as “painful, fierce, tragic”, leading to other principal roles in Bordeaux. In Paris she was disappointed at her audition at the Opéra, but was soon engaged at the Folies-Bergère, and sang in the clothed
revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...
, gaining more stage experience; she later commented "Aux Folies, j'ai tout appris!". At her second try for an operatic position Duval was engaged for '' L'Aiglon'' (which she never sang), but made her debut at the
Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...
in the title role of ''
Madame Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lut ...
'' on 5 March 1947.Wolff, Stéphane. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique.'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953. The same year she was discovered by Poulenc, rehearsing Cio-Cio-san, the composer immediately recognizing her as the artist he was seeking for his first opera ''Les Mamelles de Tirésias'' that June; she worked closely with Poulenc for the rest of his life. Her repertoire at the Salle Favart went on over 20 years to cover the title role in '' Angélique'', la Périchole in ''le Carrosse du Saint-Sacrement'', Giulietta in '' les Contes d’Hoffmann'', Concepción in '' L'Heure espagnole'', Alexina in '' Le Roi malgré lui'', ''
Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...
'', ''
la Bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...
'' (Musette), ''
Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' (; ), commonly known as simply ''Madame Bovary'', is the début novel by France, French writer Gustave Flaubert, originally published in 1856 and 1857. The eponymous character, Emma Bovary, lives beyond he ...
'' (Emma), '' Manon'' (Manon), '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' (Mélisande). She also created the roles of Thérèse in '' les Mamelles de Tirésias'', Francesca in ''le Oui des Jeunes Filles'', Valentine in ''ll était un Petit Navire'', and the title role in ''Dolorès''. She sang Madame Fabien in the French premiere of '' Vol de nuit (Volo di notte)'' by Luigi Dallapiccola in 1960. At the
Paris Opéra The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...
she sang Salomé in 1947 and followed this with '' Thaïs'', Rosenn in '' Le Roi d'Ys'', Portia in ''Le Marchand de Venise'' and '' Les Indes Galantes''Gourret J. ''Dictionnaire des cantatrices de l'Opera de Paris.'' Editions Albatros, Paris, 1987. Outside France Duval sang in Italy (
La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...
), the Edinburgh Festival, The Colon in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
and Glyndebourne (Mélisande). At
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
her roles also included Fata Morgana in ''
The Love for Three Oranges ', Op. 33, is a 1921 satirical French-language opera by Sergei Prokofiev. He wrote his own libretto, basing it on the Italian play '' L'amore delle tre melarance'', or ''The Love for Three Oranges'' ( ''Lyubov k tryom apyelsinam'') by Carlo Goz ...
'', Musetta in ''La Bohème'' and ''
The Medium ''The Medium'' is a short (one-hour-long) two-act dramatic opera with words and music by Gian Carlo Menotti. Commissioned by the Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia University, its first performance was there on 8 May 1946, with Claramae Turner a ...
''. Among her appearances in America was her 1961 ''Thaïs'' at the
Dallas Opera The Dallas Opera is an American opera company located in Dallas, Texas. The company performs at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, one venue of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. History The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic ...
, conducted by
Nicola Rescigno Nicola Rescigno (May 28, 1916 – August 4, 2008) was an Italian-American conductor (music), conductor, particularly associated with the Italian opera repertory. ''Opera News'' said that "Rescigno was a seminal figure in the history of opera in Am ...
and directed by
Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (; 12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019) was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post–World War II e ...
. She sang La femme and Concepción in the first and third parts of a triple bill of ''Vol de nuit'', '' Le Rossignol'' and ''L'Heure espagnole'' in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
. In 1960 Poulenc wrote his ''La Courte Paille'' song cycle (poems by Maurice Carême) for Duval – or rather "for her to sing to her six-year-old son" (although she did not premiere it) – and later for her also ''La Dame de Monte-Carlo'', in 1961. Following incorrect administration of
cortisone Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug. Cortisol is converted by the action of the enzyme corticosteroid 11-beta-dehydrogenase ...
treatment she retired in 1965 from performance and moved to the home her husband had built in Switzerland, while retaining some teaching at the École française de musique. She died in Bex, aged 94. Grove describes her as a “beautiful woman with great dramatic intelligence, she was a most gifted singing actress”. André Tubeuf, Elizabeth Forbes. Denise Duval. In: In: New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed Sadie S. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. In 2003 a biography by Bruno Bérenguer, ''Denise Duval'', was published by Symétrie.


Roles created

*Thérèse in Poulenc's '' Les mamelles de Tirésias'' (3 June 1947) *Elle in Poulenc's '' La voix humaine'' (6 February 1959) *Blanche de la Force in Poulenc's '' Dialogues of the Carmelites'' (French version, 21 June 1957) Other contemporary works included ''Der Tod des Grigori Rasputin'' by Nikolas Nabokov (Cologne, 1959), ''Les Amants captifs'' by Pierre Capdevielle (Bordeaux, 1960) and ''Le Serment'' by Tansman (Nice, 1963).


Recordings

As well as recordings of all three Poulenc operas, these include
Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is '' The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life and career L ...
's '' La Veuve Joyeuse'' opposite Jacques Jansen for
Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...
under Jules Gressier,
Florent Schmitt Florent Schmitt (; 28 September 187017 August 1958) was a French composer. He was part of the group known as Les Apaches. His most famous pieces are ''La tragédie de Salome'' and ''Psaume XLVII'' ( Psalm 47). He has been described as "one of t ...
's Psaume XLVII Op. 38 under Georges Tzipine, and Ravel's ''L'Heure espagnole'' (Concepción) with Opéra-Comique forces under
André Cluytens Augustin Zulma Alphonse "André" Cluytens (, ; 26 March 19053 June 1967)Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. was a Belgian-born French conducting, conductor who was active in the conce ...
. In 2009 a 1963 recording of ''Pelléas et Mélisande'' from Glyndebourne under Vittorio Gui brought back Duval's performance of Mélisande. From French radio broadcasts, recordings of '' Phryné'' by Saint-Saens in 1960 and ''
Geneviève de Brabant ''Geneviève de Brabant'' () is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1859. The plot is based on the medieval legend of Genevieve of Brabant. For the 1867 version two additional characters, men-at-ar ...
'' by Offenbach in 1956 (both title roles) have been issued, while her Périchole of 1950 has yet to be released. A DVD entitled ''Francis Poulenc & Friends'', of archive French television broadcasts, includes operatic excerpts and two melodies sung by Duval with Poulenc accompanying, in 1959. In 1970 Dominique Delouche filmed Duval in the role of Elle in 'playback' to her 1960 audio recording of ''La Voix humaine''; in 1998 Duval gave a master class on the role on the stage of the Opéra-Comique with Sophie Fournier accompanied by Alexandre Tharaud at the piano.Doriane Films product description for Denise Duval La Voix Humaine DVD, 2009 (with masterclass).
accessed 24 April 2016.


References


Bibliography

*Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', 782 pages,


External links



on ''
Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'' (27 January 216) {{DEFAULTSORT:Duval, Denise 1921 births 2016 deaths French operatic sopranos Singers from Paris 20th-century French women opera singers