Marthe Chenal

Marthe Chenal
Marthe Chenal, c. 1920
Born24 August 1881
Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, France
Died28 January 1947 (aged 65)
Paris, France
OccupationSinger
Years active1905–1923

Marthe Chenal (24 August 1881 – 28 January 1947) was a French operatic soprano who had an active singing career between 1905 and 1923. Although she made a number of appearances with opera companies throughout the French provinces and on the international stage, her career was mainly centered at the Palais Garnier and the Opéra-Comique in Paris. She particularly excelled in the works of Jules Massenet and was an exponent of the works of Camille Erlanger.[1]

Chenal was admired not only for her excellent singing but also her dramatic prowess, with a number of critics comparing her to the great French dramatic actress Sarah Bernhardt. A remarkably attractive woman, Chenal was dubbed by the international press as "the most beautiful woman in Paris". She was noted for her rendition of La Marseillaise.[2][3] Her voice is preserved on a number of recordings made with Pathé Records in 1915.[1]

  1. ^ a b Chenal Biography of Marthe Chenal at operissimo.com (in German)
  2. ^ Williams, Wythe (February 14, 1915). "A Dramatic Scene as "the Most Beautiful Woman in Paris" Electrifies Her Audience at Opera Comique with the Stirring French National Air" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-03. I went to the Opera Comique the other day to hear Marthe Chenal sing the "Marseillaise." For several weeks previous I had heard a story going the rounds of what is left of Paris life to the effect that if one wanted a regular old-fashioned thrill he really should go to the Opera Comique on a day when Mlle. Chenal closed the performance by singing the French national hymn.
  3. ^ "Marthe Chenal" (in French). Retrieved 2009-08-03. Marthe Chenal débute au Palais Garnier en 1906 dans "Sigurd" d'Ernest Reyer. Suivront "Faust" de Gounod, "Freischütz" de Von Weber, "Tannhaüser" de Wagner, "Ariane" de Massenet en 1907. Marthe se fait engager à l'Opéra-Comique par Albert Carré en 1908 où elle reprend "Aphrodite" de Erlanger. ...[permanent dead link]