Candeille, (Amélie) Julie

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Candeille, (Amélie) Julie

Candeille, (Amélie) Julie, French pianist, harpist, singer, actress, composer, and writer, daughter of Pierre Joseph Candeille; b. Paris, July 31, 1767; d. there, Feb. 4, 1834. She received most of her musical training from her father, but also studied piano with Holaind and singing with Legros. At age 14 she joined the Paris Opéra, and at 15 appeared as Gluck’s Iphigénie there. In 1783 she appeared as an instrumentalist at the Concert Spirituel. By 1785 she was a member of the Comédie Française, where she was active as both a performer and a composer. In 1816 she was granted a pension by Louis XVIII. Her most successful work was the comédie Catherine, ou La belle fermière (Paris, Nov. 27, 1792). In addition to other stage pieces, she also composed orch. works, chamber music, piano pieces, and songs. Among her writings were novels, dramas, and her memoirs, the last included in L. Aillaud, “J. C,” Chronique mondaine, littéraire et artistique (Nîmes, Oct. 27, 1923–Jan. 12, 1924).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire