Elisabeth Duparc

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Elisabeth Duparc, called La Francesina , 1737

Elisabeth or Elisabetta Duparc called “ La Francesina ” (“the little French woman ”) (* between 1710 and 1715 ; † 1773 or 1778 ) was a French or French-born (?) Opera singer ( soprano ) who performed exclusively in the Italian repertoire and in sang numerous works by Georg Friedrich Handel .

Life

Little or nothing is known about her origins, youth and education, some sources claim that she was the granddaughter of an actress named Duparc from the Molière company .

Elisabeth received her vocal training in Italy and in 1731 she worked in Florence at the Teatro del Cocomero in some buffa operas by Giovanni Chinzer .
At the same theater she appeared again in the Carnival 1734-35, this time in the more demanding Opera seria ; u. a. she sang now in Adelaide by Nicola Porpora (?); and in Lucca in the autumn of the same year in Giovanni Portas L'Issipile .

1736 she became the rival of Handel Opera of the Nobility of London committed and debuted at the King's Theater in Johann Adolph Hasse Siroe , in an ensemble with the famous Farinelli (Carlo Broschi) a star. She was invited together with two other singers from the company, Antonia Merighi and Margherita Chimenti :

“... to sing to Her Majesty the Duke and Princesses at Kensington , and was received most graciously ; afterwards the Francesina performed several dances, to the complete satisfaction of the court. "

" ... had the honor to sing ... before her majesty, the duke, the princesses, at Kensington, and met with a most gracious reception; after which the Francesina performed several dances to the entire satisfaction of the court. "

- London Daily Post : November 18, 1736

1737-38 she sang in various operas by Francesco Veracini , Giuseppe Maria Orlandini , Riccardo Broschi , Giovanni Battista Pescetti and Egidio Duni - until the early summer of '37 always with Farinelli, then with Caffarelli (see repertoire list below). She also appeared as Sallustia in Georg Friedrich Händel's pasticcio Alessandro Severo at the end of 1737 , and sang Faramondo (Clotilda) and Serse (Romilda) in his new operas the following year .

Since Handel's previous favorite singer Anna Maria Strada left England at this time, Francesina took her place and subsequently became Handel's preferred prima donna . Until 1746 he composed a total of 12 leading roles for her in his last Italian operas and in a whole series of English oratorios . In 1739 she was the first Michal in Saul and sang the soprano solo in the world premiere of Israel in Egypt . In the latter work, Handel added four extra Italian arias for Francesina as a crowd puller. She probably also appeared in the Pasticcio Giove in Argo and in the Ode for St. Cecilia's Day .
In 1740 Handel created the roles of Penseroso ("the pensive one") in L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (premiere: February 27, 1740) and the Rosmene in Imeneo (premiere: November 22, 1740) for her; a performance of the latter (November 29) had to be postponed "due to indisposition of Francesina" ( " on account of the indisposition of Francesina ") ( Burney ). On January 10, she sang the title role in the world premiere of Handel's last opera Deidamia . In addition, she took part in re-performances of older works by Handel, such as Esther or Acis and Galatea , and also sang in Veracini's A New Eclogue .

In 1744 Elisabeth Duparc was Handel's first Semele , and then sang leading roles in the world premieres of Joseph and his Brethren in Belshazzar , as well as the Iole in Hercules . The last part Handel composed for her was the soprano solo in the Occasional Oratorio (premiere: February 14, 1746). She also sang in performances of Samson , Deborah and the Messiah .

According to Burney, Elisabeth Duparc remained closely connected to Handel even after her retirement from the stage (" ... but constantly attached herself to Handel ... " (Charles Burney)). There is evidence that she took part in a concert in Soho in 1752 .

Voice and art

Elisabeth Duparc was a soprano with a very agile, light, coloratura - and trill capable (' warbling ') voice. Burney said she sang 'like a lark ' (' lark-like '), Mrs Granville - Delany said something similar. If Burney meant a woodlark , this could indicate that the Francesina had something touching or melancholy in her singing or voice beyond trills and ornamentation. In any case, Handel wrote some bird arias for them, such as Penseroso's “ Sweet byrd ” ( L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato ) or Deidamia's “ Nascondi l'usignol ” (end of Act 1), which Burney calls “a light, airy, Pleasant piece for the lively throat of Francesina ”(“ ... is a light, airy, pleasing movement, suited to the active throat of the Francesina ”). One of the most technically demanding arias for her is Semele's virtuoso “ No, no, I'll take no less ”. An example of the profound and expressive qualities of this singer is the part of Nitocris in Handel's Belshazzar , with the famous prayer “ Thou, God most high” and the bravura aria “ The leafy honors of the field” .

Roles for La Francesina

The following roles were composed specifically for Elisabeth Duparc “la Francesina”. Other roles (in pre-existing works) are mentioned in the text above.

  • Lucinda in La commedia in commedia by Giovanni Chinzer ; Premiere : Autumn 1731, Florence , Teatro del Cocomero
  • Bellalba in La vanità delusa by Giovanni Chinzer; Premiere: November 2nd, 1731, Florence, Teatro del Cocomero
  • Argia in Merope by Riccardo Broschi ; Premiere: January 8th 1737, London, King's Theater in the Haymarket; with Farinelli (Carlo Broschi), Antonia Merighi , and the bass Antonio Montagnana a . a.
  • Servilia in La clemenza di Tito by Francesco Maria Veracini ; WP: April 12, 1737, London, King's Theater in the Haymarket; with Farinelli (Carlo Broschi), Antonia Merighi, and the bass Antonio Montagnana a. a.
  • Creusa in Demofoonte by Egidio Romualdo Duni ; Premiere: May 24th 1737, London, King's Theater in the Haymarket; with Farinelli (Carlo Broschi), Antonia Merighi, Maria A. Marchesini a . a.
  • Rosmiri in Arsaces by Giuseppe Maria Orlandini ; Premiere: October 29, 1737, London, King's Theater in the Haymarket; with Caffarelli , Antonia Merighi, Maria A, Marchesini, Montagnana etc. a.
  • Isifile in La conquista del vello d'oro by Giovanni Battista Pescetti ; Premiere: January 28, 1738, London, King's Theater in the Haymarket; with Caffarelli, Antonia Merighi, Maria A. Marchesini, Montagnana a. a.
  • Climene in Partenio by Francesco Maria Veracini; Premiere: March 14th 1738, London, King's Theater in the Haymarket; with Caffarelli, Antonia Merighi, Maria A. Marchesini, Montagnana a. a.

Parts in works by Georg Friedrich Händel , premiered in London:

Operas :

  • Clotilda in Faramondo (January 3, 1738),
  • Romilda in Serse (April 15, 1738),
  • Rosmene in Imeneo (November 22, 1740),
  • Title role in Deidamia (January 10, 1741),

Oratorios :

literature

  • Winton Dean : Duparc, Elisabeth ("Francesina") , London 2001, in: Grove music online (full access only with subscription; English; accessed October 29, 2019)
  • Julian Marshall: "FRANCESINA, LA, Elisabeth Duparc, detta", in: A Dictionary of Music and Musicians (edited by Georg Grove), 1900, online as online (; accessed October 29, 2019)
  • Elisabeth Duparc dite La Francesina , online at Quell'usignolo (French; accessed October 29, 2019) </

Web links

  • Handel's roles for Élisabeth Duparc, La Francesina , on the ossia editions website (accessed October 31, 2019)
  • Pedro Octavio Diaz: La Francesina , short bio and announcement of a concert with Sophie Junker, Franck-Emmanuel Comte and Le Concert de l'Hostel Dieu, online on Parnassus (French; accessed October 31, 2019)

Individual notes

  1. ↑ other variants of names or types of writing: first name: Lisabetta; Last name: du Parc, Du Parc or (Italian) Duparch (!). ( National Portrait Gallery , London (accessed October 31, 2019).)
  2. ↑ or "Franscenina"; see: Elisabeth Duparc dite La Francesina , online at Quell'usignolo (French; accessed October 29, 2019)
  3. ↑ Dean gives 1773 as the year of death, other sources 1778. Winton Dean: Duparc, Elisabeth ("Francesina") , London 2001, in: Grove music online (full access only with subscription; English; accessed October 29, 2019)
  4. ↑ a b c d "Elisabeth Duparc dite La Francesina", online at Quell'usignolo (French; accessed October 29, 2019)
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g Winton Dean: "Duparc, Elisabeth (" Francesina ")", London 2001, in: Grove music online (full access only with subscription; English; accessed October 29, 2019)
  6. ↑ u. a. in La commedia in commedia ( La commedia in commedia (Giovanni Chinzer) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna ) and in La vanità delusa ( La vanità delusa (Giovanni Chinzer) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna ).
  7. ^ Adelaide (Nicola Porpora) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  8. ^ L'Issipile (Giovanni Porta) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Julian Marshall: "FRANCESINA, LA, Elisabeth Duparc, detta", in: A Dictionary of Music and Musicians (published by Georg Grove), 1900, online as online (; accessed on October 29, 2019)
  10. ^ Siroe (Johann Adolf Hasse) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  11. ↑ a b c d e f roles for Élisabeth Duparc, La Francesina , on the ossia editions website (accessed October 31, 2019)
  12. ↑ a b Pedro Octavio Diaz: La Francesina , short bio and announcement of a concert with Sophie Junker, Franck-Emmanuel Comte, Le Concert de l'Hostel Dieu, online on Parnassus (French; accessed October 31, 2019)
  13. ^ La commedia in commedia (Giovanni Chinzer) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  14. ^ La vanità delusa (Giovanni Chinzer) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  15. ^ Merope (Riccardo Broschi) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  16. ^ La clemenza di Tito (Francesco Maria Veracini) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  17. ^ Demofoonte (Egidio Romualdo Duni) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  18. ^ Arsaces (Giuseppe Maria Orlandini) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  19. ↑ La conquista del vello d'oro (Giovanni Battista Pescetti) in Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  20. ↑ Lisimaco (Bernardo Pasquini) in Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  21. ↑ Roles for "Élisabeth Duparc, La Francesina", on the ossia editions website (accessed October 31, 2019)
personal data
SURNAME Duparc, Elisabeth
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Francesina, La; Duparc, Elisabetta; Duparch, Elisabetta; You Parc, Elisabeth; You Parc, Lisabetta
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French opera singer, in works by Handel
DATE OF BIRTH between 1710 and 1715
DATE OF DEATH 1773 or 1778