Yvonne Printemps
Encyclopedia
Yvonne Printemps was a French singer and actress.
in Paris. She was dancing at the Folies Bergère at age 13. Nicknamed Printemps (springtime) by her fellow chorus members because of her sunny disposition, she started in operetta, appearing in such works as Les Contes de Perrault (1913) and Le Poilu (1916). Her voice and stage presence made her a great star at a young age, appearing as a teenager with the greatest stars of the day, Maurice Chevalier
and Mistinguett
.
In 1919, she married actor-playwright Sacha Guitry
. Together they performed in a number of his plays, bringing the extremely popular 1925 production of Mozart
to cities in North America, including New York City, Montreal, and Boston, Massachusetts.
In 1934 she received international acclaim for her performance in the Noel Coward
play, Conversation Piece
. She performed in Paris and at London's West End
before going to the United States to star on Broadway. She appeared in nine motion pictures, including the starring role in both the stage and screen versions of Trois Valses.
While married to Sacha Guitry, she fell in love with French film star Pierre Fresnay
. She divorced Guitry for Fresnay, whom she did not marry, but with whom she remained for life. Loving the spotlight, she would be seen draped with jewels and wearing enormous hats. Personifying the grand diva, she made a great spectacle wherever she went with her pet dogs on a leash.
She continued to perform on stage until she was well into her sixties and remained active with Pierre Fresnay, co-directing the Théâtre de la Michodière in Paris with him until his death in 1975.
Yvonne Printemps died in the Paris suburb of Neuilly
in 1977. She is interred with Fresnay in the Neuilly-sur-Seine community cemetery
.
In 1994, the government of France placed her image on a postage stamp.
Biography
Born Yvonne Wigniolle, she made her debut at the age of 12 in a revue at La CigaleLa Cigale
La Cigale is a theater at 120, boulevard de Rochechouart near Place Pigalle, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. The theatre is part of a complex that is connected to Le Trabendo and the Boule Noire. The hall can accommodate 1389 people or 954 people...
in Paris. She was dancing at the Folies Bergère at age 13. Nicknamed Printemps (springtime) by her fellow chorus members because of her sunny disposition, she started in operetta, appearing in such works as Les Contes de Perrault (1913) and Le Poilu (1916). Her voice and stage presence made her a great star at a young age, appearing as a teenager with the greatest stars of the day, Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
and Mistinguett
Mistinguett
Mistinguett was a French actress and singer, whose birth name was Jeanne Bourgeois. She was at one time the best-paid female entertainer in the world...
.
In 1919, she married actor-playwright Sacha Guitry
Sacha Guitry
Alexandre-Pierre Georges Guitry was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the Boulevard theatre.- Biography :...
. Together they performed in a number of his plays, bringing the extremely popular 1925 production of Mozart
Mozart (musical comedy)
Mozart is a comédie musicale in three acts with music by Reynaldo Hahn and words by Sacha Guitry, a pastiche of the composer's early works to fit beside arias written for Yvonne Printemps...
to cities in North America, including New York City, Montreal, and Boston, Massachusetts.
In 1934 she received international acclaim for her performance in the Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
play, Conversation Piece
Conversation Piece (musical)
Conversation Piece, billed as "A Romantic Comedy with Music", is a musical written by Noel Coward. It premiered at His Majesty's Theatre, London, on 16 February 1934, and ran for 177 performances over five months...
. She performed in Paris and at London's West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
before going to the United States to star on Broadway. She appeared in nine motion pictures, including the starring role in both the stage and screen versions of Trois Valses.
While married to Sacha Guitry, she fell in love with French film star Pierre Fresnay
Pierre Fresnay
Pierre Fresnay was a French stage and film actor.Born Pierre Jules Louis Laudenbach in Paris, France in 1897, he was encouraged by his uncle, the actor Claude Garry, to pursue a career in theater and film...
. She divorced Guitry for Fresnay, whom she did not marry, but with whom she remained for life. Loving the spotlight, she would be seen draped with jewels and wearing enormous hats. Personifying the grand diva, she made a great spectacle wherever she went with her pet dogs on a leash.
She continued to perform on stage until she was well into her sixties and remained active with Pierre Fresnay, co-directing the Théâtre de la Michodière in Paris with him until his death in 1975.
Yvonne Printemps died in the Paris suburb of Neuilly
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...
in 1977. She is interred with Fresnay in the Neuilly-sur-Seine community cemetery
Neuilly-sur-Seine community cemetery
The Neuilly-sur-Seine community cemetery in the Hauts-de-Seine département of France is in the western suburbs of Paris, near La Défense.-Notable interments:*René Clair , film director*Pierre Drieu La Rochelle , writer...
.
In 1994, the government of France placed her image on a postage stamp.
Films
- Un roman d'amour et d'aventures (1918) (dir. René Hervil and Louis MercantonLouis MercantonLouis Mercanton was a Swiss film director, Screenwriter and actor.-Selected filmography:Director* Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth co-director* Le mystère de la villa rose * The Nipper * Octave...
) - Camille (1926)
- La dame aux camélias (1934) (dir. Abel GanceAbel GanceAbel Gance was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. He is best known for three major silent films: J'accuse , La Roue , and the monumental Napoléon .-Early life:...
) (as Marguerite Gautier) - Les trois valses (1938) (dir. Ludwig BergerLudwig Berger (director)Ludwig Berger was a German film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. He directed 36 films between 1920 and 1969...
and Albert WillemetzAlbert WillemetzAlbert Willemetz was a French librettist.Albert Willemetz was a prolific lyricist. He invented a new type of musical, with a humorous and "sexy" style...
) (as Fanny, Yvette and Irène Grandpré) - Adrienne Lecouvreur (1938) (dir. Marcel L'HerbierMarcel L'HerbierMarcel L'Herbier, Légion d'honneur, was a French film-maker, who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued until the 1950s and he made more than 40 feature films in total...
) (in the title role) - Le Duel (1939) (dir. Pierre FresnayPierre FresnayPierre Fresnay was a French stage and film actor.Born Pierre Jules Louis Laudenbach in Paris, France in 1897, he was encouraged by his uncle, the actor Claude Garry, to pursue a career in theater and film...
) (as Thérèse Jaillon) - Je suis avec toi (1943) (dir. Henri DecoinHenri DecoinHenri Decoin was a French film director and screenwriter. He directed 50 films between 1933 and 1964. He was also a swimmer who competed for France in the men's 400 metre freestyle event at the 1908 Summer Olympics and the water polo tournament at the 1912 Summer Olympics.-Selected filmography:*...
) (as Élisabeth and Irène) - Les Condamnés (1948) (dir. Georges Lacombe)
- La Valse de Paris (1949) (dir. Marcel AchardMarcel AchardMarcel Achard was a French playwright and screenwriter whose popular sentimental comedies maintained his position as a highly-recognizable name in his country's theatrical and literary circles for five decades...
) (as Hortense Schneider) - Le Voyage en AmériqueLe Voyage en AmériqueLe Voyage en Amérique , is a French comedy film from 1952, directed by Henri Lavorel, written by Roland Laudenbach, starring Madeleine Barbulée and Louis de Funès...
(1951) (dir. Henri LavorelHenri LavorelHenri-Albert-Sylvestre Lavorel was born on 5 July 1914 in Annecy, Haute-Savoie and died in a car accident on 7 January 1955 in Versailles. He was married to the English actress Madeleine Carroll from 1946 to 1949....
) (as Clotilde Fournier)
Sources
- Steane, J B (1992), 'Printemps, Yvonne' in The New Grove Dictionary of OperaNew Grove Dictionary of OperaThe New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes....
, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
External links
- Listen 1931 recording by Yvonne Printemps of Au clair de la lune. Webpage includes lyrics.