Zulma Madeleine Boufflar, known as Zulma Bouffar, (24 May 1841 – 20 January 1909), was a French soprano singer and actress, associated with the opéra-bouffe of Paris in the second half of the 19th century who enjoyed a successful career around Europe.

Life and career

At the age of six, Bouffar appeared in ''La fille bien gardée'' in Marseille, and followed this with successful performances in Lyon. Her father then toured with her around western Europe and Scandinavia. After her father's death in 1854 she continued travelling, bringing into her repertoire some of the contemporary songs of Offenbach, who heard her sing in Hamburg in 1864. The same year Bouffar appeared at

Bad Ems Bad Ems () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a spa on the river Lahn. Bad Ems was the seat of Bad Ems collective municipality, which has been merged i ...

in Offenbach's '' Lischen et Fritzchen'', and repeated her success in Paris.Gänzl K. ''The Encyclopaedia of the Musical Theatre.'' Blackwell, Oxford, 1994. From this time for about 12 years Bouffar was probably Offenbach's mistress – his longest extra-marital liaison. She created Nani in ''

Les géorgiennes LES or Les may refer to: People * Les (given name) * Les (surname) * L.E.S. (producer), hip hop producer Space flight * Launch Entry Suit, worn by Space Shuttle crews * Launch escape system, for spacecraft emergencies * Lincoln Experimental ...

'', Éros, L'Intendant and Jeannet in '' Les bergers'', Gabrielle in '' La Vie parisienne'', Drogan in ''

Geneviève de Brabant ''Geneviève de Brabant'' () is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1859. The plot is based on the medieval legend of Genevieve of Brabant. For the 1867 version two additional characters, men-at-ar ...

'', Toto in '' Le château à Toto'', Fragoletto in '' Les Brigands'', Robin Luron in '' Le Roi Carotte'', Ginetta in ''Les braconniers'', Moschetta in ''

Il signor Fagotto ''Il signor Fagotto'' is a one-act opérette by Jacques Offenbach to a French libretto by Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter and Étienne Tréfeu, first performed in 1863. The story of a father outwitted and true love winning is set within "a burl ...

'' and Prince Caprice in ''

Le voyage dans la lune ''A Trip to the Moon'' ( , ) is a 1902 French science-fiction adventure trick film written, directed, and produced by Georges Méliès. Inspired by the Jules Verne novel ''From the Earth to the Moon'' (1865) and its sequel '' Around the Moon' ...

'' – a range of men's and women's roles. In 1873 Bouffar was reported in the Parisian press to have been considered for the title role of Bizet's new opera, ''

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 ...

''. Although the composer denied the story, the singer did attend the premiere of the piece in 1875.Curtiss M. ''Bizet and his world.'' New York, Vienna House, 1958. From 1891 to 1893 Bouffar became the manager of the

Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique The (, literally, Theatre of the Comic-Ambiguity), a former Parisian theatre, was founded in 1769 on the boulevard du Temple immediately adjacent to the Théâtre de Nicolet. It was rebuilt in 1770 and 1786, but in 1827 was destroyed by fire. A ...

. In the latter part of her stage career, Bouffar appeared in operettas by Lecocq and

Strauss Strauss, Strauß, or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is usually spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" most com ...

, and sang around Europe. She announced her retirement from the stage in 1902.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouffar, Zulma 1841 births 1909 deaths French operatic sopranos French operatic mezzo-sopranos People from Nérac French theatre managers and producers Women theatre managers and producers 19th-century French women singers