Henriette Adélaïde Villard Beaumesnil
Encyclopedia
Henriette Adélaïde Villard Beaumesnil (30 August 1748 – 5 October 1813) was a French
actress, opera singer and composer
. She began working in minor roles at the age of seven and debuted as a soloist in 1766. She sang her own works and was the second woman to have her compositions performed at the Opéra. She retired from the stage in 1781 and died in Paris in 1813.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
actress, opera singer and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Biography
Henriette Villard Beaumesnil (married name Cauvy) was an actress and singer at the Paris OperaParis Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
. She began working in minor roles at the age of seven and debuted as a soloist in 1766. She sang her own works and was the second woman to have her compositions performed at the Opéra. She retired from the stage in 1781 and died in Paris in 1813.
Works
Selected works include:- Anacréon, opera 1781
- Tibulle et Delie ou Les Saturnales, opera
- Les fetes grecque et romaines, opera 1874
- Les Israëlites poursuivis par Pharaon oratorio 1784
- Plaire, c'est commander, opera 1792 (libretto by Marquis de la Salle)