Suzette Defoye

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

''Marie-Suzanne-Joséphe Artus Truyart'' ( Lille, 17 July 1741 – Floruit 1787), was a French ballet dancer, stage actor, opera singer and theatre director, active in France, Belgium and Russia.Mme De Foye
/ref>

Biography

Suzette Artus was born the child of the musician Pierre-Jérôme Artus Truyart and the actress Marie Bienfait. She debuted as a dancer the Desgraviers troupe in Metz in the 1759–60 season before her debut as first singer in Brussels in 1766 as Zerbine in Baurans and Pergolesi's ''La Servante maîtresse''. On June 30, 1766, she was one of fifteen actors granted exclusive right by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria to perform in Brussels, known as the ''Ordinary Actors to H.R.H. Prince Charles of Lorraine'', governor of the Austrian Netherlands. The troupe was an artistic success but not economically successful. When Suzette, against her the will of her colleagues, wanted to resign as co-director in 1768, a conflict broke out, which was not solved until two co-directors granted her an annuity in 1772. In 1773, she left Brussels. She joined the troupe of Mme Destouches-Lobreau in Lyon the 1773–74 season, and then left for Russia, where she performed in the imperial troupe in Saint Petersburg and Moscow. When the French troupe left Russia in 1779, she stayed, and performed at several concerts of church music for Lent organized by the violinist Louis-Henri Paisible. In 1781, she returned to France, where she performed in Lille, and then to the Austrian Netherlands, where she performed in the theatre of Ghent in 1782–85 and then in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

. In 1787, she was the director of the theatre of Béthune, and the

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

d'Hinge, the Grand

Bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

of Béthune, requested that she be granted the exclusive right to perform in Amiens. Her life after this date is unknown.

Family

She married the

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

ist François-René-Marie Defoye before 1766, but on November 19, 1771, she had her husband interned at the Alexian monastery in Brussels, for "a clear case of madness", where he remained until his death in 1800. She moved in with her lover Nicolas Guilleminot-Dugué, an actor who had arrived in Brussels in 1769 and a member of the troupe since 1771; their relationship lasted until 1779.

References

SIEFAR Dictionary
* Burney, C. Voyage musical dans l'Europe des Lumières 771-1773 Paris, Flammarion, 1992, p. 243-244. * Liebrecht, H. Histoire du théâtre français à Bruxelles. Paris, Champion, 1923, p. 231-242. * Mooser, R.-A. L'Opéra-comique français en Russie au XVIIIe siècle. Genève, Kister, 1954, p. 77-79. {{DEFAULTSORT:Defoye, Suzette 18th-century French actresses French stage actresses 1741 births French expatriates in Russia 18th-century French ballet dancers Musicians from Lille Actors of the Austrian Netherlands Date of death missing 18th-century French women singers 18th-century theatre managers 18th-century French businesswomen 18th-century French businesspeople Women of the Austrian Netherlands