Jane Marie Andrée Rhodes (13 March 1929 – 7 May 2011) was a French opera singer whose voice encompassed both the

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 high

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 ...

ranges. Her most celebrated role was

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 ...

, which she sang in the opera's first ever staging at the

Palais Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...

. She also created the roles of Isadora in

Marcel Landowski Marcel François Paul Landowski (18 February 1915 – 23 December 1999) was a French composer, biographer and arts administrator. Biography Born at Pont-l'Abbé, Finistère, Brittany, he was the son of French sculptor Paul Landowski and gre ...

's ' and Maguelone in

Georges Delerue Georges Delerue (12 March 1925 – 20 March 1992) was a French composer who composed over 350 scores for cinema and television. Delerue won numerous important film music awards, including an Academy Award for '' A Little Romance'' (1980), three C� ...

's ''Le Chevalier de Neige'' and sang Renata in the first recorded performance of

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 ...

's '' The Fiery Angel''. Admired for both her voice and her glamorous stage presence, she was nicknamed the " Bardot of the Opéra". She was married to conductor

Roberto Benzi Roberto Benzi (born 1937) is a French conducting, conductor and former child actor. Early life Roberto Benzi was born on 12 December 1937 in Marseille, France."Benzi, Roberto (1937–...)" His parents discovered his musicality when he was very y ...

References

Sources

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (; AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. With 2,400 employees of 100 nationalities, AFP has an editorial presence in 260 c ...

(May 7, 2011)
"French opera singer Jane Rhodes dies"
*'' Diapason'' (May 8, 2011)
"Jane Rhodes, l'une de nos plus belles Carmen, est morte"
* *Kuhn, Laura (ed.) (2000). "Rhodes, Jane (Marie Andrée)". ''Baker's Dictionary of Opera''. Schirmer Books, p. 652. *''

L'Express (, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''R� ...

'' (May 9, 2011)
"La cantatrice Jane Rhodes est morte"
*

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

Archives
Performance Record: Rhodes, Jane (Soprano)

External links

Biography of Jane Rhodes by Bruno-Pierre Wauthier with portraits and magazine covers on which Rhodes appeared during her career * Singers from Paris 1929 births 2011 deaths French operatic mezzo-sopranos French operatic sopranos Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 20th-century French women opera singers {{France-opera-singer-stub