Zélie de Lussan

Zélie de Lussan (21 December 1861 – 18 December 1949) was an American opera singer of French descent who was successful in her native country but made most of her career in England. The wide range of her voice allowed her to sing both mezzo-soprano and soprano roles. Among de Lussan's most famous roles was the title role in Bizet's Carmen, which she performed 2,000 times. She appeared with Sir Thomas Beecham's opera companies, at Covent Garden and with the Carl Rosa Opera Company. After retiring from the stage she made her home in London, where she continued to teach singing for many years.

Zélie de Lussan was born in Brooklyn, New York, to French parents, Jean de Lussan and his wife, a professional soprano. The young Zélie first appeared on stage at the age of nine but her parents forbade her to embark on a professional musical career. The Swedish singer Christina Nilsson heard her sing and persuaded the de Lussans to change their minds. After training with her mother, de Lussan made her operatic début in 1884 in Boston, Massachusetts, as Arline in Balfe's The Bohemian Girl, in which she was an immediate success.Augustus Harris engaged her to appear in the first season under his management at Covent Garden, London, and as Carmen she made the part "peculiarly her own." Some critics compared her favourably to Emma Calvé, then the leading interpreter of the role.The Times wrote of her début, "This young lady, like most modern prime donne, comes from America; but she is an American with a difference, being ... partly French and partly Spanish ... her movements are lithe and graceful, almost snake-like; and, in brief, we have here an interesting and attractive Carmen, who makes her audiences not only applaud but think." Later, George Bernard Shaw was less enthusiastic: "the performance was slipshod and perfunctory. Melba, De Reszke, Lasalle and Miranda sang in French; Ciampi and the chorus sang in Italian; and Miss de Lussan sang in whatever language seemed to have the best of it for the moment." Shaw nevertheless acknowledged de Lussan's prominence: "Last Wednesday I was told that Siegfried was to be produced that evening at Covent Garden. I was incredulous, and asked my informant whether he did not mean Carmen, with Miss Zélie de Lussan in the title part."

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