Maria Duchêne Explained

Maria Duchêne-Billiard (5 December 1883 – 2 April 1947) was a French contralto of the Metropolitan Opera from 1912 to 1916.^[1] She portrayed such roles as Amneris in Aida, Giulietta in The Tales of Hoffmann, Lola in Cavalleria rusticana, Maddalena in Rigoletto. She sang the role of the Old Woman in L'amore dei tre re, Rosette in Manon, Schwertleite in Die Walküre, and the Solo Madrigalist in Manon Lescaut among others.

Biography

Duchêne was born in France and arrived in the United States in 1907 at the age of 23, already calling herself an "artiste". In 1910, she created the role of Adah in Naughty Marietta on Broadway.^[2]

She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera on 16 March 1912 as La Cieca in Amilcare Ponchielli's La Gioconda with Emmy Destinn in the title role, Enrico Caruso as Enzo, and Arturo Toscanini conducting. She appeared in the American premiere of Boris Godunov as the Nurse in 1912 with Toscanini conducting.^[3] On 12 March 1913 she was to sing the role of Giulietta in Les Contes d'Hoffmann when she fainted; her role was taken over by madam Fremsted, who had sung the role when it premiered in the United States.^[4]

With the company she notably portrayed the role of the Peasant Woman in the United States premiere of Gustave Charpentier's Julien on 26 February 1914. Her mother, Elizabeth Duchêne (1859–1915) died in 1915 of pneumonia just as Duchêne was about to take the stage as Lola in Cavalleria rusticana.^{[1] [5]} Her final and 166th performance with the Met was as Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera in an out-of-town performance at the Boston Opera House on 18 April 1916.^[6]

On 7 October 1926, she married André Dumont (1896–1942), a French harmonium maker at Les Andelys. On 11 August 1937, they divorced.

She died on 2 April 1947.

Notes and References

1. News: Sings, With Mother Dying. Mme. Duchene Gets Message Just Before She Appears on Stage . Mme. Maria Duchene, the French contralto of the Metropolitan Opera Company, was informed just before she made her entrance last night on the stage in the role of Lola in "Cavalleria Rusticana" that her mother was dying in the French Hospital, where she had been for several days suffering from an attack of pneumonia. . . February 7, 1915 . 2011-03-05 .
2. https://www.playbill.com/person/maria-duchene-vault-0000063932 "Maria Duchêne"
3. News: American Premiere of "Boris Godounoff" Wednesday . Boris Godounoff, the Russian opera by Moussorgsky, will be the feature of next week's repertoire at the Metropolitan Opera House, where it will have its first American hearing on Wednesday evening. It will be conducted by Mr. Toscanini, and the cast will include Madames Homer, Case, Sparkes, Maubourg, and Duchene, and Messrs. Didur, Althouse, Rothier, Reiss, Bada, De Segurola, Rossi, Audisi, Reschiglian, and Kreidler. . . March 12, 1913 . 2011-03-09 .
4. News: Fremstad Saves An Opera. Takes Mme. Duchene's Place on a Twenty-Minute Notice . About fifteen minutes before the curtain rang up on the first act of "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" last evening at the Metropolitan Opera House Mr. Gatti-Casazza's telephone rang and he was notified that Mme. Duchene had fainted just as she was starting from home and would be unable to appear as Giulietta in the opera that evening. . . March 13, 1913 . 2011-03-09 .
5. News: Elizabeth Duchene . Elizabeth Duchene, mother of Maria Duchene-Billiard of the Metropolitan Opera Company, died Tuesday night at the French Hospital in this city of pneumonia at the age of 56 years. ... . . February 11, 1915 . 2011-03-09 .
6. Web site: Marie Duchène . 2011-03-07 . .