Marie-Jeanne Larrivée, born Marie-Jeanne Lemière (1733–1786) was a French soprano.
Biography Marie-Jeanne Larrivée was a prominent member of the Paris Opera company, where she made her debut in 1750 under the name of Mlle Lemière (also spelt Lemierre or Le Mière).(in Catalan) Enciclopèdia Espasa Volum núm. 29, p. 887 () She was the sister of violinist Jacques Lemière and cellist Jacques-Louis Lemière both engaged at the Paris Opera in the same period. Her parents were Louis-Michel Lemière, a wig maker, and Julienne Lemière.Pougin, Arthur. Pierre Jélyotte et les chanteurs de son temps: Un ténor de l'Opéra au XVIIIe siècle. France, BnF collection ebooks, 2016.Bouissou, Sylvie. Dictionnaire de l'Opéra de Paris sous l'Ancien Régime, 1669–1791: P–Z. Tome IV. France, Classiques Garnier, 2020.
After performing several light roles as a cover, at the beginning of 1752 Lemière left the theater scene. She probably intended to improve her voice, but her five-year absence from the stage was mainly related to her stormy relationship with the Duke of Gramont, whose abusive behaviour, even bordering on rape, darkened this period of her life. In July 1752 she gave birth to her first daughter, Marie-Antoinette, but neither of the parents acknowledged her, and only her grandfather offered himself as godfather.According to Camille Piton she had one or two other children with the Duke (Paris sous Louis XV : rapports des inspecteurs de police au roi publiés et annotés par Camille Piton, Paris, Mercure de France, 1905/1914, t. 5, pp. 376–388). In 1756 she finally managed to break up with the Duke and the following year she was readmitted to the Opéra with increased salary.Bouissou, pp. 397–398.
The parts played by Mlle Lemière included roles in the operas Silvie, Omphale (Cardonne), Ovide et Julie (as Julie),(in French) Salimes and Céphale et Procris (Grétry). Larrivée-Lemière retired from the theater in 1777. In 1762 she had married her partner, Henri Larrivée, and had two daughters: pianist, harpsichordist and composer Camille Larrivée and violinist Agathe Elisabeth Henriette Larrivée. In 1767, the Larrivées separated.(in French) Their two daughters went on to live with their aunt and guardian, Elisabeth-Henriette Larrivée and toured through French provinces in concerts.
Marie-Jeanne Larrivée-Lemière was also considered one of the most esteemed singers of the Concert Spirituel, where she regularly performed between 1750 and 1763, and then more irregularly until 1778, when she retired with a pension of 2,000 francs annually.(in German) Großes Sängerlexikon, Volume 4, page 2617, Larrivée-Le Mière (Lemierre, Le Mière) Marie-Jeanne.()
Roles debuted OperaComposerRole(s)Date of premiereLocationThésée (Mondonville)Jean-Joseph de MondonvilleThe high priestess, Minerva; a woman from Athens; a shepherdess, from an enchanted island7 November 1765FontainebleauLes PaladinsRameauNérine12 February 1760Paris OperaCanente (Dauvergne)Antoine DauvergneCanente11 November 1760Paris OperaÉnée et Lavinie (Dauvergne)Antoine DauvergneVenus; Iris14 February 1758Paris OperaAnacréonRameauChloë1766VersaillesAcante et CéphiseRameauUn'autre bergère19 November 1751Paris OperaLes fêtes de PaphosJean-Joseph de MondonvilleAglaé (act 1); Amour (act 2)9 May 1758Paris OperaSabinus (opera)(in French; libretto) Michel Paul Guy de Chabanon,Sabinus: Tragédie-lyrique en 5 act ()François-Joseph GossecÉponine4 December 1773Versailles; in presence of King Louis XVHippolyte et Aricie (revision of 1757)(in French) RameauUne matelote, une bergère, une chasseresse1757Versailles; in presence of King Louis XVErnelinde, princesse de NorvègeFrançois-André PhilidorErneline24 November 1767Paris OperaThéonis ou Le ToucherJean-Claude Trial and Pierre-Montan BertonThéonis13 October 1767Paris OperaTiton et l'AuroreJean-Joseph de MondonvilleL'Aurore22 February 1763Paris OperaSilvieJean-Claude Trial and Pierre-Montan BertonL'Amour17 October 1765Paris OperaLe Carnaval de ParnasseJean-Joseph de MondonvilleFlorine (prologue); Thalie23 June 1767Paris OperaIsmèneFrançois Rebel and François FrancœurIsmène12 October 1769Fontainebleau
References
Sources Sylvie Bouissou, Larrivée, Marie-Jeanne Lemière, épouse, in id., Pascal Denécheau e France Marchal-Ninosque (eds), Dictionnaire de l'Opéra de Paris sous l'Ancien Régime (1669–1791), Paris, Classiques Garnier, 2019, III (H–O), pp. 397–400 David Charlton Opera in the Age of Rousseau: Music, Confrontation, Realism, Cambridge University Press, 2012. () Félix Clément and Pierre Larousse Dictionnaire des Opéras, Paris, 1881. ()
Lemière, Marie-Jeanne, voir Larrivée (1733–1786) / Noms / Autres index / Parcourir / Accueil – Portail Philidor Dictionnaire de la musique en France aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, sous la direction de Marcelle Benoit, édition Fayard, 1992. () Charles Dill Opera Remade, 1700–1750, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2016. ()