Viardot

PAULINE VIARDOT (1821-1910)

French mezzo-soprano, best known for highly dramatic operatic roles.

L&T: Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline Garcia on 18 July 1821 in Paris, third

and last child of the famous singer Manuel Garcia and Maria Joaquina

Sitches. Her elder brother became the great voice teacher Manuel Garcia II,

and her elder sister the celebrated soprano Maria Malibran. PV a plain but

highly intelligent child, who showed much musical and artistic promise from

early age. She first studied singing with her father (til his death in

1832), composition with Anton Reicha, and piano - in which she excelled -

with Franz Liszt (with whom she fell in love), but on tragic death of her

famous sister, aged 28, in 1836, she began studying singing seriously with

her mother. A year later, in December 1837, she made her singing debut in

Brussels at concert given by her brother-in-law, Belgian violinist

Charles-Auguste de Beriot, where she stunned audience with her range of

three octaves - like her sister, was greatly admired for being able to sing

both contralto and soprano roles - and her musical versatility. During 1838

she made a concert tour of Germany with de Beriot and her brother Manuel,

during which she performed her own songs, accompanying herself on the piano,

and met and became friends with Clara Wieck and Schumann in Leipzig.

PV's operatic debut came in London on 9 May 1839, aged 17 - like her sister,

she debued as Desdemona in Rossini's 'Otello', and then performed same role

in Paris in October. In Paris, she was taken up by crowd surrounding Alfred

de Musset [see below] and was engaged by the Theatre Italien, where she

played a variety of parts in Rossini operas. She became good friends with

George Sand (who made her the heroine of her novel 'Consuelo', 1842), and in

1840 - partly through Sand's instigation - she married the director of the

Theatre Italien, the writer Louis Viardot, 21 yrs her senior. Their first

daughter, Louise, was born in 1841, but this when PV still only 20 and at

very beginning of her career - result was that daughter was brought up for

most part by Viardot's mother, while PV continued her career. Meanwhile,

Louis Viardot had given up post at theatre, and from this point accompanied

PV on concert tours throughout Europe during following years.

During early 1840s, PV appeared in cities across Europe, and then 1843-46

she spent several seasons in St. Petersburg, where she sang with the Russian

opera. Here she met the writer Ivan Turgenev [see below], who fell in love

with her, and while there became immensely popular for including works by

Glinka and Dargomizhsky in Russian as well as the Italian repertory. (Was

fluent in Spanish, French, Italian, English, German and Russian). In 1846

she returned to Paris, where in 1849 she had her greatest triumph - as Fides

in Giacomo Meyerbeer's 'Le prophete', a part that was written for her and

with her collaboration, and that she would go on to perform more than 200

times. During the following years she began collaborating with other

composers - esp with Gounod on 'Sapho' (1851), and with Berlioz on 'Les

Troyens' (1855-58) and 'Beatrice et Benedict' (1860-62). However, perhaps

the highest point in her career came in 1859, when she performed the title

role in Hector Louis Berlioz' re-creation of Christoph Gluck's forgotten

opera 'Orfeo ed Eurydice' at the Theatre Lyrique in Paris. Her other notable

roles included Beethoven's Leonore, Gluck's Alceste, and Verdi's Lady

Macbeth. Meanwhile, her thoughtful interpretations of songs earned her a

place in Parisian intellectual circles, and Johannes Brahms, Camille

Saint-Saëns, Robert Schumann, and Gabriel Fauré all wrote pieces for her.

In 1861 she published a collection of selected songs and arias, entitled

'Ecole classique de chant', with her comments on phrasing, accentuation and

interpretation, plus a critical edition of Schubert's 'Lieder'.

In 1863, aged 42, PV retired from the stage and left France (she and her

husband in opposition to rule of Napoleon III), settling with her husband, 3

youngest children (had 4 altogether) and Turgenev in Baden-Baden, where she

taught singers from all over world and composed. During her long life, she

composed more than 100 songs and melodies to texts by Musset, Turgenev,

Pushkin, Gautier, Morike, Goethe and others, most of which were published

during her lifetime. Her other compositions included vocal transcriptions of

12 of Frederic Chopin's mazurkas (set to poems by Louis Pomey) - these very

popular, and contributed considerably to Chopin's own popularity, songs

setting Russian texts, and several operettas, including 'Le dernier sorcier'

('The Last Sorcerer', 1869 - libretto by IT), which was also performed in an

orchestral version in Weimar in same year and in Riga and Karlsruhe in 1870.

She also performed piano duets with Clara Schumann and gave private organ

concerts, and at Baden-Baden sang in the premiere of Brahms's 'Alto

Rhapsody' (Jena, 3 March 1870).

Viardots built a villa in Baden-Baden, with an art gallery in the garden and

a small opera house, where she, her pupils and children gave concerts and

performed their own dramatic works - with librettos by Turgenev. However,

with defeat of Napoleon III in Franco-Prussian War in 1871, PV and husband

able to return to Paris, where she continued to live with both husband and

Turgenev until their deaths in 1883. During 1870s she continued teaching and

composing, plus presided over highly regarded musical salon in the rue de

Douai (this only for musical aficiandos - Henry James considered it

"boresome", as apparently did Gustav Dore and others), and in 1880 she

published a manual on singing, based on the Garcia method, entitled 'Une

heure d'etude: exercices pour voix de femmes'. In 1883 she moved to the

boulevard St. Germain and from then on lived far more retired life until her

death on 18 May 1910. Her eldest daughter, Louise (1841-1918) became a

contralto, teacher and composer; her second daughter, Marianne (b. 1854) was

for a time engaged to Faure, but married the French pianist and composer V.

A. Duvernoy. Her son, Paul (1857-1941) became a violinist, conductor and

composer.

Viardot & Alfred De Musset:

Poet Alfred de Musset had been great (though distant) admirer of PV's much

elder sister, the opera singer Maria Felicita Malibran, who died in 1836 at

age of 28. Maria had made opera debut in London in June 1825, at age of 17 -

was instant and sensational success, as was huge personality - beautiful,

vivacious, amazing voice with huge range plus many other talents, with great

personal charm: was hit also in New York and Paris. Was considered

international tragedy when she died, on 23 September 1836, following fall

from a horse. "La Malibran" had by this stage become kind of Romantic symbol

of beauty and liberation (she defied public opinion by living openly with

her lover, Belgian violinist Charles de Beriot, despite already being

married, and having son with him), and mourned by many poets who barely knew

her, including Lamartine and de Musset - later wrote his 'Stances à la

Malibran' on her death which became one of the great elegies of Romanticism.

When her sister died, PV was aged 15 - MM's death a terrible shock to her,

particularly as it followed on so swiftly from father Garcia's death. From

this point was brought up to be sister's successor (had previously been

devoted to the piano), but had disadvantage of being undeniably plain. Was

taken under wing of brother-in-law Charles de Beriot (had married Malibran

in spring 1836), and was with him that she made first public appearance as

singer on 13 December 1837 at Brussels. Then toured Europe, arriving in

Paris in late autumn 1838, where she first met de Musset at salon of Madame

Jaubert - herself an accomplished musician and hostess, whose salon was

attended by great lawyer and orator Berryer, Prince Belgiojoso (Italian

patron of Rossini), sculptor Auguste Barre, and brothers Alfred and Paul de

Musset. Alfred devoted to Madame Jaubert - had in fact been lovers briefly

in 1835, shortly after his final break with George Sand, and were now v.

close friends. Madame Jaubert launched PV in Paris, chosing guests with care

• including 27-yr-old infamous Alfred de Musset, whose interest was aroused

in her already, as was sister of inspiring Malibran. Pair were introduced

after concert, and de M. found her not only wonderful singer but also

exceptionally intelligent - v. impressed and soon fell in love with her:

championed her in the press, and gave her all his support socially etc. (PV

apparently never in love with him however). Wrote famous article on her

first public performance in Paris (at Theatre de la Renaissance on 15

December 1838 - A de M unable to attend, so PV went round to his place

afterwards and gave him full rendition of concert) for the 'Revue des Deux

Mondes' (1 Jan 1839) in which he made famously glowing tribute to her

talent: wrote that she had her sister's genius, and that "She abandons

herself to inspiration with that easy simplicity which gives everything an

air of grandeur . . . She sings as she breathes", and "She possesses, in a

word, the great secret of artists: before expressing something, she feels

it. She does not listen to her voice, but to her heart . . .", and concluded

article with poem. However, PV found de M's pressing attentions increasingly

alarming - esp as he was a notorious drunk and womanizer (having v. public

affair with famous 17-yr-old actress Rachel at same time as wooing PV) and

pair fell out during 1839. Would make it up, but would never be so close

again - esp. after PV became close friends with George Sand, 1839-40, as

Sand did utmost to make sure PV disliked him while at same time promoting

cause of her friend Louis Viardot.

Viardot & Turgenev:

Viardot set up unconventional household with lover, writer and landowner

Ivan Turgenev: had first met him in St. Petersburg on 13 November 1843.

Extraordinarily tall, strikingly handsome (though with curious squeaky

voice), 25-yr-old Turgenev fell instantly in love with married PV - first

and only love that would last until his death. He left Russia in order to

follow her to France in 1845, and later same year pair became lovers. Pair

were then separated for year (1846) partly by PV's attempts to stay faithful

to husband and partly by IT's poverty which kept him in Russia, but in Jan

1847 he left Russia for good, and joined PV first in Berlin, and then spent

years 1848-50 mainly staying in Viardot's country house Courtavenel while PV

away on concert tours -was here that he wrote famous play 'A Month in the

Country' in spring 1850 (plot can be seen as semi-autobiographical, with IT

as hopeless lover of heroine, Rakitin). IV returned to Russia 1850-56,

during which he was imprisoned for while (1852) and sent over his

illegitimate daughter for PV to adopt ("Paulinette"), but on return in 1856,

relations between them worsened (PV apparently now impatient that IT still

in love with her), and were cool until 1863 (with IT spending time both in

Paris and St. Petersburg, but hardly ever seeing PV), when Viardots moved to

Baden-Baden and IT allowed to live near them. In 1864 he bought plot of

land adjacent to Viardot's villa on which he built his own villa for

himself, including a small theatre. In 1870 Viardots + Turgenev (now himself

a far greater figure of renown than PV) went to London, and then three moved

into same house in Paris in 1871 - remained living a trois until both Louis

Viardot and Turgenev died in 1883, IT surviving LV by only a few weeks. PV

had four children, three of which were born during long affair with IT, but

not clear that any were his - most likely was daughter Claudie, whom he

adored, but no real evidence.