Méric-Lalande, Henriette (Clémentine)
Méric-Lalande, Henriette (Clémentine)
Méric-Lalande, Henriette (Clémentine),French soprano; b. Dunkirk, 1798; d. Chantilly, Sept. 7, 1867. She studied with her father, who was the director of a provincial opera company, making her debut in Nantes in 1814. After vocal studies with Garcia in Paris, she made her first appearance there on April 3, 1823, in Castil-Blaze’s pasticcio Les Folies amoureuses, then continued her training with Bonfichi and Banderali in Milan and took part in the Venice premiere of Meyerbeer’s II Crociatto in Egitto (March 7, 1824). She created Bianca in Bellini’s Bianca e Gernando (Naples, May 30, 1826), Imogene in II Pirata (Milan, Oct. 27, 1827), and Alaide in La Straniera (Milan, Feb. 14, 1829), even though Bellini himself declared that she was “incapable of delicate sentiment” She made her London debut in II Pirata at the King’s Theatre (April 17, 1830) and appeared in Rossini’s Semiramis (1831). She retired shortly after creating the title role in Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia (Milan, Dec. 26, 1833).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire