Nelly Martyl (1 April 1884 – 9 November 1953), born Nelly Adèle Anny Martin, 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 ...

opera singer based 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 ...

who participated in several world premieres. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the

1918 flu epidemic The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

, she worked as a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

and received the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

for her service.

Early life

Nelly Adèle Anny Martin was born in Paris, the daughter of Jules Edouard Martin and Hélène Fleming. Her mother was

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. She trained as a singer at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

, studying with teachers Martini and

Jacques Isnardon Jacques Isnardon (15 February 1860 – 14 November 1930) was a French bass-baritone, writer and voice teacher. After winning a competition at the Paris Conservatory, he made his debut as Baxter in Émile Paladilhe's ''Diane (Paladilhe), Diane'' ...

Career

Martyl was a soprano opera singer in Paris. She made her professional debut in 1907 in Gluck's '' Armide''. She joined 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 1909, where she appeared as Micaela in Bizet's ''

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 ...

'', Sophie in Massenet's ''

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 ''The S ...

'', Mimi in Puccini's ''

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 ...

'' and in the title role of Massenet's ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was f ...

'', among others. Martyl performed in several world premieres, including Le Borne's ''La Catalane'' (1907), Erlanger's ''La Sorcière'' (1912), and, at the

Monte Carlo Opera Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Monte ...

, Massenet's '' Amadis'' in 1922. She appeared in London's

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

Covent Garden in 1910, and recorded a duet in 1911. She was featured in fashion magazines, wearing gowns by Paris designers. Nelly Martyl sings La Marseillaise at a Scottish hospital during World War I - Original

Nelly Martyl sings La Marseillaise at a Scottish hospital during World War I - Original

During World War I, she became a

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

nurse. She served at the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

in 1916, where she was called "la fée de Verdun" (the fairy of Verdun), and at the

Second Battle of the Aisne The Second Battle of the Aisne ( or , 16 April – mid-May 1917) was the main part of the Nivelle Offensive, a French Third Republic, Franco-British attempt to inflict a decisive defeat on the German Empire, German armies in France. The Entente ...

in 1917. She also gave recitals in the military hospitals, and sang at benefit concerts. She was wounded and gassed, and after the war continued as a nurse during the

. She was decorated with the

with the carte du combattant (signifying service under particular hazard) in 1920. After the war, Martyl created a charitable medical foundation with automobile racer

Magdeleine Goüin Magdeleine Goüin, ''countess Bernard :fr:Famille de Ganay, de Ganay'' (2 March 1901 – 30 June 1949) was a French racing driver and philanthropist. Early life Goüin was born 2 March 1901 in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement ...

, and the Nelly-Martyl Foundation's dispensary opened in 1929 in Paris; the building was razed in 2017, despite some efforts to preserve it.

Personal life

In 1909, Nelly Martyl married French artist

Georges Scott Georges Bertin Scott (10 June 1873 – 10 January 1943)Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

. In 2016, to mark the centenary of the Battle of Verdun, a novel about Martyl, ''La fée de Verdun'' by , was published.

References

External links

* Ashok Arakelyan (21 May 2017)
"Forgotten Opera Singers: Nelly Martyl (Soprano) (1884–1953)"
blog post about Martyl * Gerard (27 December 2019)
"Nelly Martyl, la fée de Verdun"
''Paris à Nu'', blog post about Martyl * , from Gounod's ''

Mireille (opera) ''Mireille'' is an 1864 opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French language, French libretto by Michel Carré after Frédéric Mistral's poem Mirèio. The vocal score is dedicated to George V of Hanover. Composition history Mistral had beco ...

'', Nelly Martyl and Edmond Tirmont {{DEFAULTSORT:Martyl, Nelly 1884 births 1953 deaths French operatic sopranos Singers from Paris French women in World War I Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Health professionals from Paris French women nurses French nurses 20th-century French women opera singers Conservatoire de Paris alumni French people of English descent