Yvonne de Tréville

Yvonne de Tréville (August 25, 1881 — January 25, 1954) was an American coloratura soprano, born Edyth Le Gierse.

Yvonne de Tréville, from a 1913 promotional brochure; from "Traveling Culture: Circuit Chautauqua in the Twentieth Century", University of Iowa Libraries, Special Collections department.

Early life

Edyth Le Gierse was born in Galveston, Texas; her father was French-speaking, and her mother was from New Orleans, Louisiana.[1] She studied voice with Mathilde Marchesi in Paris.[2]

Career
Yvonne de Tréville as "Lakme" (1916).

Yvonne de Tréville made her debut in New York in 1897, and the next year was playing Mimi in the New York debut of Puccini's La Bohème. In 1902 she first appeared with the Paris Opéra-Comique as Lakmé.[3] Over the following decade, she sang in Stockholm, St. Petersburg, Budapest, Nice, Berlin, Bucharest, Prague, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hanover, Cairo, and Brussels; she was noted for her strong language skills.[1] She sang Mimi again at the Vienna Court Opera in 1909 and 1910. She returned to the United States in 1912.[4] Tréville appeared on the Broadway stage in Carmen in 1918 and 1919.[5]

In her later career she focused on concert singing, touring, arranging songs, and teaching voice in New York.[6] She was associated with the Interstate Grand Opera Company, to bring opera music to the American midwest.[7] Composers Mary Carr Moore, Gertrude Ross, and Gena Branscombe composed and dedicated songs to Yvonne de Tréville, songs which she performed in her Three Centuries of Prime Donne show for several seasons.[8][9] In 1914, she sang a recital at sea for the sailors, after her concert appearances in Honolulu, Hawaii.[10]

During World War I she was active performing for war relief causes.[11] She gave a concert for the Aviation Corps in Mineola, New York,[12] and at a rally for the American Red Cross.[13] She also chaired a wartime committee promoting the writing of new patriotic songs.[14][15]

Personal life

Yvonne de Tréville died in 1954, aged 72 years.[16]

References
  1. "Miss de Tréville a Linguist" New York Times (January 15, 1912): 9. via ProQuest
  2. Ellis L. Moore, Francis Moore: A Musician's Life (XLibris 2007): 193. ISBN 9781425769109
  3. "De Treville as 'Lakmé' with Cleveland Opera" Musical America (September 23, 1916): 35.
  4. Ashot Arakelyan, "Yvonne de Tréville" Forgotten Opera Singers (May 25, 2016).
  5. Yvonne de Tréville's listing on Playbill.
  6. "An Original Artist and Patriotic Woman" Musical Leader (July 12, 1917): 40.
  7. "Yvonne de Treville Prima Donna of Interstate Grand Opera Company" Musical Monitor (October 1916): 77.
  8. "Yvonne de Treville" Musical Monitor (November 1916): 129.
  9. "First Costume Song Recital" Los Angeles Times (February 18, 1914): II6. via ProQuest
  10. "Gave a Concert in Mid-Ocean; Yvonne de Treville Sang for the Sailors" Los Angeles Times (February 7, 1914): II6. via ProQuest
  11. "Yvonne de Treville Gives Vacation to Patriotic Work" The Musical Leader (August 30, 1917): 206.
  12. "Yvonne de Treville Sings for Aviators" Musical Leader (September 20, 1917): 291.
  13. "Yvonne de Treville Delights New York Bohemians at Red Cross Rally" Musical Leader (September 27, 1917): 305.
  14. "Yvonne de Treville Chairman of New Music Committee of National Patriotic Song Committee" Musical Leader (August 16, 1917): 162.
  15. "Yvonne de Tréville Sings New Patriotic Songs" Musical Courier (August 9, 1917): 8.
  16. "Miss De Treville, Opera Singer, 72" New York Times (January 27, 1954): 27. via ProQuest
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