Germaine Lubin
Germaine Lubin (born February 1, 1890 in Paris , † October 17, 1979 there ) was a French opera singer ( soprano ). She was best known for her interpretations of Richard Wagner's works.
Life
Germaine Lubin was born in Paris as the daughter of a Parisian and Samuel Lubins , a pharmacist and artist with roots in Guyana . She attended the Collège Sévigné to become a doctor . However, she spent most of her early childhood in Cayenne , French Guiana . Her father taught her to play the piano at the age of six . At the age of 18 she attended the Paris Conservatory , whose director Gabriel Fauré was an admirer of her art, so he personally took care of the training of her voice.
In 1912 she made her debut in “Hoffmanns Erzählungen” at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, supported by Albert Carré, and in the following two decades became the most admired soprano at the Paris Opera, which reopened in 1940, with numerous guest appearances at the world's leading opera houses. She made a name for herself as a Wagner interpreter, also personally friends with the Wagner family, e.g. B. 1941 during a guest performance by Herbert von Karajan in occupied Paris in the opera Tristan und Isolde (photo).
In 1931 she was seen as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Festival .
Because of her general friendliness towards German, the cooperation with the occupiers and the contact with Nazi giants, she was arrested as a collaborator in 1944 - after the liberation of France. She always vehemently denied these allegations. In 1946 the detention was overturned and the charges withdrawn after several witnesses confirmed that Lubin had helped them during the war. Nevertheless, she was banned from performing for life (which later only lasted 5 years) and had to leave the country. She lived in Italy until 1950, then returned to Paris, performed again, but mainly acted as a reciter. She gave her last concert in 1952. After her son's suicide in 1953, she stopped performing in public and gave singing lessons. She died in Paris in 1979 at the age of 89.
Her voice was described as powerful and glamorous, her demeanor was decisive, dominant and sometimes haughty. She said in an interview that she strives for stage presence through her own appearance, not through the power of the role.
Discography
Although she was one of the leading French sopranos in the 1920s and 1930s, few recordings exist. In 1929 and 1930 some excerpts from her repertoire were published on sound carriers: arias from the operas Tosca , Der Freischütz and Sigurd and from operas by Wagner. In addition, songs by Franz Schubert , Robert Schumann and Gabriel Fauré and in 1944 two songs by Jacques Leguerneys , as well as works by Felice Blangini in a duet with the then still young Gérard Souzay appeared .
literature
- Nicole Casanova, Isolde 39. Germaine Lubin, Flammarion, 1974. ISBN 2-08-060750-2
Web links
- Germaine Lubin (English)
- Biography of Germaine Lubin
Individual evidence
- ↑ "Mais je n'aime pas chanter les victimes". In Le Quotidien de Paris July 10, 1974, published in Altamusica
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lubin, Germaine |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French opera singer (soprano) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 1, 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Paris |
| DATE OF DEATH | 17th October 1979 |
| Place of death | Paris |