Freda Betti (26 February 1924 – 13 November 1979), whose birth name was Frédérique Thérèse Augusta Betti, was a French

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

singer whose career was mainly confined to France.''Central Opera Service bulletin'', Volume 23, No. 1
. (1981). Obituary: Freda Betti. p. 39 She left a range of recordings representative of her repertoire.

Biography

Freda Betti was born at 52 rue des Ponchettes in the district of ''Vieux-Nice'' in a modest family : her father was a house painter and her mother a fishmonger. His paternal family originates from the region of

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

: his grandfather was born in

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

and he immigrated to

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Years of birth and death in the German National Library
accessed 27 December 2014. She studied music and especially singing at the Conservatory of Nice with Édouard Rouard,Obituary for Freda Betti
in ''

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 ...

'', Vol 31, p299, 1980. accessed 27 December 2014. where she obtained a ''Premier Prix de Chant'' in 1943. She made her debut at the

Opéra de Monte-Carlo The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco. With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Charles III, Prince of Monaco, Prince Charl ...

in 1947 as Siébel in ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'' by

Charles 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 appeared frequently with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France of the RTF in the early 1950s, before entering the troupe of 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 1960s. She sang the title role in particular of ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'' by

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', w ...

which she sang more than 150 times, and her repertoire also included Fricka, Brangaene, Dulcinée in '' Don Quichotte'' and Suzuki. Betti sang on major national stages (

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

) and European ( Monte-Carlo,

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 ...

), as well as in numerous opera festivals, including

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...

. Betti recorded for

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

and

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

. Among published recordings she took part in were '' The Snow Maiden'' (Bobilicka), '' Démophon'', ''

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 ...

'' (shepherd boy) and ''Philippine'' (Isabelle). In 1958 she recorded excerpts from ''Carmen'' with Ken Neate, Gabriel Bacquier and Andréa Guiot on Philips P 77118 L. She also participated in the original production of ''L'Opéra d'Aran'' by

Gilbert Bécaud François Gilbert Léopold Silly (24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001), known professionally as Gilbert Bécaud (), was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-know ...

, in 1962, at the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

. Betti sang the title role of ''

La Périchole ''La Périchole'' () is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The opera depicts the mutual love of two impoverished Peruvian street singers – too poor to afford a marriage ...

'' on French Culture radio in 1964. In the 1970s she was a vocal teacher at the Conservatory of

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. Freda Betti died at her home in

Personal life

Freda Betti was married on 29 October 1949 in

Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the right bank of the Seine, some from the Kilometre z ...

to René Clermont (1919–1976). The couple had two children. Freda Betti was the sister of Henri Betti and the great grandaunt of Alexy Bosetti but she has no family relationship with

Laura Betti Laura Betti ( Trombetti; May 1 1934 – 31 July 2004) was an Italian actress known particularly for her work with directors Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Bernardo Bertolucci. She had a long friendship with Pasolini and made a docume ...

and Priscilla Betti.

Repertory

Her list of roles include:List of performances
operaclass.com * 1947: ''

'' by

– Marthe Schwertlein * 1950: '' Le domino noir'' by

Daniel Auber Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire. Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally whe ...

– Ursule * 1951: '' L'ivrogne corrigé'' by

Christoph Willibald Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of th ...

– Mathurine * 1952: '' Le joueur de flûte'' by Hervé – Busa * 1952: ''

Jenůfa ''Její pastorkyňa'' (''Her Stepdaughter''; commonly known as ''Jenůfa'' ) is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček to a Czech libretto by the composer, based on the Play (theatre), play ''Její pastorkyňa'' by Gabriela Preissová. It was ...

'' by

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...

– the judge's wife * 1953: '' At the Sign of the Reine Pédauque'' by Charles-Gaston Levadé – Jeannette * 1954: '' Roméo et Juliette'' by Charles Gounod – Gertrude * 1955: ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'' by

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

– Berta * 1955: '' The Snow Maiden'' by

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ALA-LC system: , ISO 9 system: .. (18 March 1844 – 2 ...

– Bobilichka * 1956: '' Le Jour et la Nuit'' by

Charles Lecocq Alexandre Charles Lecocq (; 3 June 183224 October 1918) was a French composer, known for his opérettes and opéra comique, opéras comiques. He became the most prominent successor to Jacques Offenbach in this sphere, and enjoyed considerable su ...

– Sanchette * 1956: '' Le Médium'' by

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian-American composer, libretto, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American ...

– Madame Nolan * 1956: ''

'' by

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

– Mastrillas, Brambilla * 1956: '' Madame l’Archiduc'' by Jacques Offenbach – the Countess * 1957: '' Gillette de Narbonne'' by

Edmond Audran Achille Edmond Audran (12 April 184017 August 1901) was a French composer best known for several internationally successful comic operas and operettas. After beginning his career in Marseille as an organist, Audran composed religious music and b ...

– Gillette de Narbonne * 1957: '' Les bavards'' by Jacques Offenbach – Béatrix * 1958: ''

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 ...

'' by

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

– Linette * 1960: '' Le Médecin malgré lui'' by Charles Gounod – Martine * 1961: '' Padmâvatî'' by

Albert Roussel Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His ...

– a woman of the people and the second woman of the palace * 1961: ''

Lavinia In Roman mythology, Lavinia ( ; ) is the daughter of Latinus and Amata, and the last wife of Aeneas. Creation It has been proposed that the character was in part intended to represent Servilia Isaurica, Emperor Augustus's first fiancée. Story ...

'' by Henry Barraud – Nunziatina * 1961: ''

Rip Van Winkle "Rip Van Winkle" () is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in Colonial history of the United States, colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Du ...

'' by

Robert Planquette Jean Robert Planquette (; 31 July 1848 – 28 January 1903) was a French composer of songs and operettas. Several of Planquette's operettas were extraordinarily successful in Britain, especially ''Les cloches de Corneville'' (1878), the length o ...

– Kate * 1962: ''

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

'' by Jacques Offenbach – Public Opinion * 1962: ''

Rhodope Rhodope may refer to: * Rhodope (mythology), several figures of Greek mythology * Rhodope Mountains, in Bulgaria and Greece * Rhodope (regional unit), of Greece * Rhodope (province), a Roman and Byzantine province * 166 Rhodope, an asteroid * Rhodop ...

'' by Louis Ganne – Nausicaa * 1963: ''

Giroflé-Girofla ''Giroflé-Girofla'' is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Charles Lecocq. The French libretto was by Albert Vanloo and Eugène Leterrier. The story, set in 13th century Spain, concerns twin brides, one of whom is abducted by pirates. ...

'' by Charles Lecocq – Aurore * 1964: ''

La chanson de Fortunio ''La chanson de Fortunio '' (''The Song of Fortunio'') is a short Opéra comique, opéra-comique in one act by Jacques Offenbach with a French libretto by Ludovic Halévy and Hector-Jonathan Crémieux, Hector Crémieux. The music was composed wit ...

'' by Jacques Offenbach – Babet

TV appearances

* 1956: '' Le Médium'' (adaptation of ''

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 ...

'') by Claude Loursais : Madame Nolan. ( RTF) * 1957: '' Les Bavards'' (adaptation of '' Les bavards'') by Bronislaw Horowicz : Béatrice. (RTF) * 1960: '' Le Médecin malgré lui'' (adaptation of '' Le médecin malgré lui'') by Claude Loursais : Martine. (RTF)

Anecdote

In 1948, Freda Betti sang two songs composed by her brother Henri Betti in two radio programs broadcast on Paris Inter : ''Le Bonheur du Monde'' (lyrics by Maurice Vandair) and ''Je Cherche une Étoile'' (lyrics by René Rouzaud). In 2018, Benoît Duteurtre hosts the radio show ''Étonnez-moi Benoît'' devoted to the career of his brother Henri Betti with the participation of his nephew and grand-nephew : François and Olivier Betti. During this radio show which is broadcast on

France Musique France Musique () is a French national public radio channel owned and operated by Radio France. It is devoted to the broadcasting of music, both live and recorded, with particular emphasis on classical music and jazz. History The channel was lau ...

on April 28, the host passes a sample of the opera-bouffe ''Le Jour et la Nuit'' composed in 1881 by

with lyrics of Eugène Leterrier and Albert Vanloo that Freda Betti had played in 1956 as Sanchette.

Biography

Personal life

Repertory

TV appearances

Anecdote

References

External links