Josephine Fodor

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Joséphine Mainvielle-Fodor in 1815, lithograph by Jean-Baptiste Singry

Joséphine Fodor or Joséphine Fodor-Mainvielle (born October 13, 1789 or 1793 in Paris , † August 10, 1870 in Saint-Genis-Laval ) was an opera singer ( soprano ) of Hungarian- French descent, who primarily appeared in Italian operas by Rossini , Paër , Mozart and their contemporaries. She was "one of the most remarkable artists of the 19th century".

Life

Her baptismal name was Geneviève-Joséphine and she was the only surviving daughter of the violinist Joseph Fodor (1751-1828) and Louise Edme Marmet, who married in Paris in 1787.

In 1794 her parents emigrated to St. Petersburg . According to Fétis , Joséphine was said to be 15 months old at the time. At the age of 11 she played the piano and harp in concerts by her father and only three years later she became known as a singer. In 1810 she made her debut at the Petersburg Court Theater in Fioravantis Cantatrici villanelle ; the opera was so successful that it was repeated 60 times.

In 1812 she married the French actor Mainvielle, with whom she went back to Paris via Stockholm and Copenhagen . There she got a job at the Opéra-comique , where she first appeared on August 9, 1814. Since she was not particularly interested in the French repertoire, in the same year she switched to the Théâtre Italy , which was then directed by Angelica Catalani ; here she had her first appearance on November 16, 1814 in Paërs Griselda and sang in operas such as Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro , Cimarosa's Penelope or Paisiellos Il Re Teodoro .

In early 1816 she went to London , where she appeared three seasons with moderate success at the King's Theater , a. a. 1817 as Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni . In the meantime her voice, which was initially hard and heavy, had developed very well through constant practice and developed "great sweetness and an inexpressible charm". In July 1818 the Fodor traveled to Venice , where she was enthusiastically celebrated by the public at the Teatro La Fenice in Carafas Elisabetta . In early 1819, however, she returned to Paris after the Catalani had given up directing the opera. The best years of her career followed. In Paris she helped Rossini's Barber of Seville to success, and also sang leading roles in operas such as Rossini's La gazza ladra , Agnese by Paër, Il matrimonio segreto by Cimarosa and Mozart's Don Giovanni.

According to Fétis, "... neither was her style particularly remarkable, nor was she particularly passionate about it," but she possessed "an invariable accuracy of intonation , great purity of tone, great perfection in details, and irresistible charm in accent her voice ”.

Joséphine Fodor in Rossini's Semiramide , Paris 1825; Costume design by Hippolyte Lecomte

Because of health problems she went to Naples in 1822 on medical advice to the milder southern climate , where she soon recovered and continued her career at the Teatro San Carlo , where she a. a. Sang roles in operas that Rossini had written there for Isabella Colbran , such as Desdemona in Otello , Semiramide and Zelmira . In total, the Fodor developed 20 new roles in all genres ( seria , buffa and semiseria ) at this time . In 1823 she spent a season in Vienna , then again in Naples until August 1825.

The Fodor now returned to Paris at the Théâtre Italy, but where she failed her voice on December 9, 1825 in a performance as Rossini's Semiramide and she had to leave the stage prematurely. As a result, she could no longer perform because of permanent voice problems and wanted to be released from her contract. However, the management of the opera refused and did not want to comply with other contractual conditions. After a series of lawsuits , an agreement was finally reached in 1828.

The Fodor traveled back to Naples and even appeared again at the San Carlo, but her voice had lost its former strength and velvety charm. Nevertheless, her style still served a singer like Henriette Sontag as a model, and Mendelssohn , who was in Naples in 1831, still made positive comments about her (letter of April 27, 1831). The Fodor-Mainvielle had their last appearance in Bordeaux in 1833 , after which they retired into private life.

In 1857 she published a singing school Réflexions et conseils sur l'art du chant (Paris, Perrotin). Around this time she lived in Passy , where she did charitable works for the benefit of the poor.

Her daughter Enrichetta (or Henriette) was also a singer and from 1846 to 1849 she was employed at the Königsstädtisches Theater in Berlin (not at the Friedrich-Wilhelmstädter Theater).

literature

  • Camille Dreyfus: "MAINVIELLE-Fodor (Joséphine Fodor, épouse Mainvielle, connues sous le nom de Mme)", in: Camille Dreyfus: La Grande encyclopédie, inventaire raisonné des sciences, des lettres et des arts, Volume 22 , Paris (o. J.), p. 1008, online (French; viewed July 25, 2019)
  • François-Joseph Fétis: "Fodor (Mme Joséphine Mainvielle)", in: Biographie universelle des musiciens ... , Vol. 3, Paris 1862, pp. 279–281.
  • Franz Gehring: "Fodor-Mainvielle Joséphine", in: GROVE (George): A Dictionary of Music and Musicians , 1900, p. 538 f, online on Wikisource (English; seen on July 25, 2019)
  • Karl Unger: Joséphine Mainvielle-Fodor, Précis historique , Vienna, 1823.

Web links

Commons : Joséphine Fodor-Mainvielle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual notes

  1. also the other way round: Joséphine Mainvielle-Fodor or simply Mme Fodor. See: "MAINVIELLE-Fodor (Joséphine Fodor, épouse Mainvielle, connues sous le nom de Mme)", in: Camille Dreyfus: La Grande encyclopédie, inventaire raisonné des sciences, des lettres et des arts, Volume 22 , Paris (o. J .), P. 1008, online (French; viewed July 25, 2019)
  2. a b c d "MAINVIELLE-Fodor (Joséphine Fodor ...)", in: C. Dreyfus: La Grande encyclopédie ... , Paris ( n.d. ), p. 1008, online
  3. a b “Mme Mainvielle-Fodor”, in: Annuaire administratif, biographique, statistique, industriel et commercial de la ville de Passy , 1858, pp. 104-109, here 104. Online at Gallica.bnf.fr (French; seen on July 25, 2019)
  4. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Franz Gehring: "Fodor-Mainvielle Joséphine", in: GROVE (George): A Dictionary of Music and Musicians , 1900, p. 538 f, online on Wikisource ( English; last seen on July 25, 2019)
  5. ^ A b c François-Joseph Fétis: "Fodor (Mme Joséphine Mainvielle)", in: Biographie universelle des musiciens ... , Vol. 3, Paris 1862, pp. 279–281, here: 279.
  6. a b c d e f g h i François-Joseph Fétis: "Fodor (Mme Joséphine Mainvielle)", in: Biographie universelle des musiciens ... , Vol. 3, Paris 1862, pp. 279–281, here: 280 .
  7. “Sa manière ne se faisait point remarquer par l'élévation du style, ni par un un charactère très passioné, mais par une justesse inaltérable des intonations, une grande pureté de son, beaucoup de perfection dans les détails, et un charme irrésistible dans l'accent de sa voix. ". See: François-Joseph Fétis: "Fodor (Mme Joséphine Mainvielle)", in: Biographie universelle des musiciens ... , Vol. 3, Paris 1862, pp. 279–281, here: 280
  8. Otto Ebel: "Fodor (Joséphine Mainviell)", in: Les femmes compositeurs de musique. Dictionnaire biographique , Paris, 1910, p. 63. Online (French; viewed July 25, 2019)
  9. "Mme Mainvielle-Fodor", in: Annuaire administratif ... de la ville de Passy , 1858, pp. 104-109, here: 109. Online at Gallica.bnf.fr (French; viewed July 25, 2019)