Germaine Lubin

Germaine (Léontine Angélique) Lubin (1 February 1890 – 27 October 1979) was a French dramatic soprano, best known for her association with the music of Richard Wagner. She possessed a brilliant voice but her later career was tainted with accusations of Nazi sympathies.

Born in Paris, Germaine Lubin was soon taken to Cayenne in French Guiana where her father was a doctor, and from him she received her first piano lessons. She returned to live in Paris at the age of eight, and attended the Collège Sévigné with the intent of studying to become a doctor. Instead, in 1908 she entered the Paris Conservatory, where Gabriel Fauré was then the director. Fauré formed a high opinion of her voice —and her statuesque beauty— and would accompany her personally in performances of his songs. She left the Conservatory in 1912 after winning three first prizes for her singing, and she was immediately in demand for performances. Throughout most of her career however she continued to take voice lessons, studying for 10 years from 1912 with the Franco-Russian soprano Félia Litvinne. She would later work on roles with Lilli Lehmann and Marie Gutheil-Schoder. She also studied with Jean de Reszke, although she felt that he taught her little.

In 1912 she made her debut at the Opéra-Comique, singing Antonia in The Tales of Hoffmann, to an audience which included Claude Debussy and Paul Dukas, and she enjoyed a great success. At the Opéra-Comique, Albert Carré gave her the chance to appear in several contemporary operas, including Gabriel Fauré's Pénélope (title role). She also sang Charlotte in Jules Massenet's Werther and the title role in Gustave Charpentier's Louise, and appeared in the world premiere of Le Pays by Guy Ropartz.

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