Marie-Françoise Desbrosses (8 March 1764 – 3 March 1856), was a French operatic

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 ...

. She made her stage debut at the

Comédie-Italienne Comédie-Italienne () or Théâtre-Italien () are French names which have been used to refer to Italian-language theatre and opera when performed in France. The earliest recorded visits by Italian players were ''commedia dell'arte'' companies ...

in 1776, at age 13, and remained with the company for almost five decades, creating several roles.

Life

Desbrosses was born in Paris, the daughter of the actor and composer Robert Desbrosses and Marie-Françoise Petitjean, and the elder sister of . At the age of six she performed couplets in front of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

, accompanied by Madame Dugazon's brother, Joseph Lefebvre, a violinist. In 1776, Desbrosses began her dramatic career, at age 13, at the

, , in the role of Justine in ''Le Sorcier'' and Colinette in the operetta ''Clochette''. She successively appeared in roles of girls, trousers roles, lovers, mothers and old women. Desbrosses asked for her retirement in 1796, played for a while in the provinces, returned to Paris in 1798, and joined the

Théâtre Feydeau The Théâtre Feydeau (), a former Parisian theatre company, was founded in 1789 with the patronage of Monsieur, Comte de Provence (later to become Louis XVIII), and was therefore initially named the Théâtre de Monsieur. It began performing in ...

. When the two theatres were reunited in 1801, she resumed her seniority rank in the new society of actors 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 ...

. She devoted herself especially to

character role A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014 ...

s and old women, succeeding Madame Gonthier. She had success in Boieldieu's ''La Fête du village voisin'', ''La jeune Femme colère'' and ''

La dame blanche ''La dame blanche'' (, ''The White Lady'') is an opéra comique in three acts by the French composer François-Adrien Boieldieu. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and is based on episodes from no fewer than five works of the Scottish wri ...

'', in

Nicolas Isouard Nicolas Isouard (; also known as ''Nicolò'', ''Nicolò Isoiar'' or ''Nicolò de Malte''; 18 May 1773 – 23 March 1818) was a Franco-Maltese composer. Biography Born in Valletta, Malta, Isouard studied in Rabat or Mdina with Francesco Azopardi ...

's ''Lully et Quinault'', Mehul's '' La journée aux aventures'', and especially in

Rodolphe Kreutzer Rodolphe Kreutzer (15 November 1766 – 6 January 1831) was a French violinist, teacher, conductor, and composer of forty French operas, including '' La mort d'Abel'' (1810). He is probably best known as the dedicatee of Beethoven's Violin Son ...

's ''Jadis et aujourd'hui'',

Louis-Emmanuel Jadin Louis-Emmanuel Jadin (21 September 1768 – 11 April 1853) was a French composer, pianist and harpsichordist. Jadin was born in Versailles. He learned piano from his brother Hyacinthe Jadin and later worked at the Théâtre de Monsieur. His fir ...

's ''Fanfan et Colas'',

Pierre Gaveaux Pierre Gaveaux (6 October 1760 – 5 February 1825) was a French operatic tenor and composer, notable for creating the role of Jason in Cherubini's ''Médée'' and for composing ''Léonore, ou L'amour conjugal'', the first operatic version of the ...

's ''Le traité nul'', Le Sueur's ''

La caverne ''La caverne, ou Le repentir'' (, ''The Cavern, or Repentance'') is an opera in three acts by French composer Jean-François Le Sueur. It was first performed at the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris, on 16 February 1793. The libretto, by Alphonse Fran� ...

'' and Boieldieu's ''Ma tante Aurore''. Desbrosses gave her "final" performance in 1823; but at the urging of the authorities, and encouraged by the solicitations of her comrades, she determined to prolong her dramatic career for another six years, until 1829, when she definitively left the theatre, and turned to voice teaching. Marie Debrosses died in Paris on 3 March 1856 at the age of 91.

World premieres

Desbrosses created several roles, including: * 1779: A maid in André Grétry's '' Les mariages samnites'', premiered at the

( hôtel de Bourgogne) in Paris, 12 June * 1786: Colette in

Lucile Grétry Lucile-Angélique-Dorothée-Louise Grétry (July 15, 1772 – March 1790) was a French composer. The second daughter of the famous composer André Grétry and the painter Jeanne-Marie Grandon, Lucile was trained by her father who introduced her ...

's ''Le mariage d'Antonio'' (libretto by De Beaunoir), premiered at the Comédie-Italienne, 29 July * 1793: Le Sueur: ''

'', 16 February * 1803: Boieldieu's: ''Ma tante Aurore'', 13 January * 1808:

's ''Jadis et aujourd'hui'', 29 October * 1812: Mlle de la Bouquinière in

's ''Lully et Quinault'', 27 February * 1816: Boieldieu's ''La Fete '', 5 March * 1816: Mother Germain in Mehul's '' La journée aux aventures'' premiered at the Opéra-Comique ( salle Feydeau), 16 November * 1819: Inn-keeper in

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 ...

's ''Le testament et les billets doux'', 18 September * 1820: Mother Berthe in Auber's ''La bergère châtelaine'', 27 January * 1822:

's ''Fanfan et Colas ou les frères de laits'' * 1823: Gouvernante in Auber's ', 8 October * 1825: Marguerite in Boieldieu's ''

'', premiered at the Opéra-Comique (salle Feydeau), 10 December * 1827: Valentine in

George Onslow George Onslow may refer to: *George Onslow (British Army officer) (1731–1792), British politician and army officer *George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow (1731–1814), British peer and politician *George Onslow (composer) (1784–1853), French compo ...

's ''Le Colporteur''

Private life

Desbrosses had a relationship with a banker, Alexandre-Henri Tassin de Moulaine, with whom she had a daughter, Adéle-Charlotte-Henriette Tassin de Moulaine, born in 1790. In 1791, she became the godmother of the son of Joseph Fiévée and his colleague at the Comédie italienne, Adélaïde Françoise Guignard, known as Mademoiselle LescotArchives nationales, base Leonore, LH/970/56, Légion d'honneur file of Adolphe Joseph Simon Fiévée (with baptismal extract).

References

External links

* * Annegret Fauser, Mark Everist (eds.)
''Music, Theater, and Cultural Transfer: Paris, 1830–1914''

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...

2019, p. 14 * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Desbrosses, Marie 1764 births 1856 deaths French operatic mezzo-sopranos 19th-century French singers Singers from Paris