Deva Dassy (born Marie-Anne Lambert; 26 August 1911 – 11 March 2016) was a French mezzo-soprano, active in opera and operetta in France from the 1930s to the 1960s who made many radio and studio recordings.Deva-Dassy. In : L'encyclopédie multimedia de la comédie musicale théâtrale en France (1918-1940) accessed 17 March 2016 (with two portrait photos)Deva Dassy at the BNF /ref>
Life and career
Born Marie-Anne Lambert in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
, she was the daughter of the radical French politician Charles Lambert (1883-1972) and the pianist Germaine Polack (1878-1952) and had a half-sister Gertrude van Goens, from the previous marriage of her mother with the cellist and composer Daniël van Goens (1858-1904).
She made her debut with her stage name at the Opéra-Comique on 19 February 1932 in ''Madame Butterfly'' (Suzouki). She went on to sing major roles in operas such as ''
Werther
''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''T ...
'' (Charlotte), ''
Mignon
''Mignon'' is an 1866 ''opéra comique'' (or opera in its second version) in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's 1795-96 novel '' Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre''. ...
'' (Mignon), ''Résurrection'' (Servant), ''
Gianni Schicchi
() is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Pucc ...
'' (Ciesca) and ''
Les voitures versées
''Les voitures versées'' (1808) is an opéra comique in two acts by François-Adrien Boieldieu after ''Amour et mystère, ou Lequel est mon cousin?'' (1807) and before ''Rien de trop, ou Les deux paravents'' (1810). The libretto is based on Emm ...
'' (Agathe) ''La Femme nue'' (l'Infirmière). Among her creations at the Salle Favart were Inès in ''Frasquita'' (1932), Violette in ''Le Roi bossu'' by
Elsa Barraine
Elsa Jacqueline Barraine (13 February 1910, in Paris – 20 March 1999, in Strasbourg) was a composer of French music in the time after the neoclassicist movement of Les Six, Ravel, and Stravinsky. Despite being considered “one of the outstandi ...
, a servant in ''Tarass Boulba''.
In 1934 her performances in Nice brought forward the comment that her
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
confirmed her early promise to be a star of the French lyric stage, with her warm and sensitive voice. As Mignon, the critic lauded her physical appearance embodying the wild 'bohémienne', with her voice across varied tones. She also appeared there that season as '' la Navarraise'' and as Prince Charmant in ''
Cendrillon
''Cendrillon'' (''Cinderella'') is an opera—described as a "fairy tale"—in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn based on Perrault's 1698 version of the Cinderella fairy tale.
It had its premiere performance on 2 ...
''.
In musical comedy she created roles in ''Erosine'' in 1935 (Commère), the title role in ''Yana'' in 1936, and in the 'revue opérette' ''La Féérie blanche'' in 1937, with
Anton Dolin Anton Dolin may refer to:
* Anton Dolin (ballet dancer)
Sir Anton Dolin (27 July 190425 November 1983) was an English ballet dancer and choreographer.
Biography
Dolin was born in Slinfold in Sussex as Sydney Francis Patrick Chippendall Heale ...
among the cast. After the war she became a frequent participant in the programme of the Service lyrique de l'ORTF making radio broadcasts of light operas, and up to 1963 took part in ''Rhodope'' (Ganne) 1962, ''
No, no, Nanette
''No, No, Nanette'' is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play ''My Lady Friends''. The farcical story involves ...
'' 1954, ''Dix-neuf ans'' (
Pascal Bastia
Pascal Bastia (11 September 1908 – 12 July 2007) was a 20th-century French operetta composer, songwriter and screenwriter.
Biography
Pascal Bastia was the son of chansonnier-songwriter, singer, actor, filmmaker Jean Bastia (1878-1940), born i ...
) 1963 and Lady Poum (''Die erste Beste'', Oscar Straus) 1963, among others.
She appeared in the film ''Faut ce qu'il faut'' (filmed 1940, released 1946, also known as ''Monsieur Bibi'') directed by
René Pujol
Amédée Ferdinand René Pujol (21 August 1887 - 21 January 1942) was a French screenwriter, film director, and librettist.
Biography
Partial list of publications
*1919 : ''L'Homme qui gagne'', Éditions françaises illustrées
*1928 : ''S.O. ...
, ''Ces sacrées vacances'' (1955) by Robert Vernay, and ''Toute la ville accuse'' (1955) by Claude Boissol.
In the 1930s she recorded operetta excerpts from, among others, ''Deux sous de fleurs'', ''La Dubarry'', ''Fleur d'Hawaï'', ''O mon bel inconnu'', ''Rose de France'', ''Valses de Vienne'' and ''Yana''. In the 1950s she took part in recordings of longer extracts or complete versions of ''La Petite Mademoiselle'' by Messager, ''Le Coeur et la main'' by Lecocq (Josefa), ''
Les Mousquetaires au couvent
''Les mousquetaires au couvent'' (''The Musketeers at the Convent'') is an opérette in three acts by Louis Varney, with a libretto by Jules Prével and Paul Ferrier, after the 1835 vaudeville ''L'habit ne fait pas le moine'' by Amable de Saint ...
'' by Varney (Soeur Opportune), ''
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-arms, ...
'' (Isoline), ''
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 Théâ ...
'' (Junon/Vénus), '' La Vie parisienne'' (Métella) and ''Barbe-Bleue'' (La Reine Clémentine) and the title role in ''
La belle Hélène
''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen's elopement with Paris, which set off the ...
'' by Offenbach. In 1962 she was Militza in ''
François les bas-bleus
''François les bas-bleus'' is an opéra comique in three acts of 1883, with a French language, French libretto by Ernest Dubreuil, Eugène Humbert, Paul Burani, and music by Firmin Bernicat, completed by André Messager.
Background
Bernicat had ...
'' in a radio recording under
Marcel Cariven
Marcel Auguste Antoine Cariven, (18 April 1894, Toulouse – 5 November 1979, Crosne near Paris) She died in
Mouriès
Mouriès (; oc, Moriés, ) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.
Population
Economy
Mouriès is known for its olive oil production, calling itself "the olive oil capital of France" (a claim disputed by Nyo ...
.
Family
In 1925 she wed the politician Louis Lallemant (1878-1948) at
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...
(divorced 1932). In 1936 she married François Brunschwig, and had a son Jean-François; they were divorced the same year.Déva DASSY cantatrice (1911-2016) genealogy accessed 23 July 2017.
In 1940 she was one of the passengers on the ocean liner the ''Massilia'' with her partner
Georges Mandel
Georges Mandel (5 June 1885 – 7 July 1944) was a French journalist, politician, and French Resistance leader.
Early life
Born Louis George Rothschild in Chatou, Yvelines, he was the son of a tailor and his wife. His family was Jewish, original ...
which transported members of the defeated French government and their families into exile.Fauchet, Benoît. Deva Dassy ls nous ont quittés '' Diapason'', Juin 2016, No.647, p15.
Gilbert Bécaud
Gilbert Bécaud (, 24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001) was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are " Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release ...