BLANCHE
DESCHAMPS-JÉHIN (ALSO MARIE BLANCHE DESCHAMPS-JEHIN) (LYONS, 18 SEPTEMBER, 1857
- PARIS, JUNE, 1923)
Already in 1874, she sang at the Alhambra Theatre in Brussels in
Lecocq’s operetta Giroflé-Girofla.
Her operatic debut took place in 1879 at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels
in Thomas’s Mignon. At the same
theater, she appeared on 19 December 1881 in the premiere of Massenet’s Hérodiade in the title role, and on 7
January 1884 in the premiere of Reyer’s Sigurd,
singing the role of Uta.
She then joined the Opéra-Comique in Paris (1885–1891), where she
appeared in several premieres: Une
nuit de Cléopâtre by Massé (25 April 1885), Le roi d’Ys by Lalo (7 May 1888), and Le Rêve by Bruneau (10 June 1891). In 1892, she sang the role of
Dalila in Samson et Dalila by
Saint-Saëns in the first performance of the opera at the Paris Grand Opéra,
where she was a celebrated prima donna from 1891 to 1902.
In 1891, she also sang with great success in a concert in Paris
commemorating the 100th birthday of Meyerbeer. In 1893, she appeared at the
Grand Opéra as Fricka in the French premiere of Wagner’s Die Walküre, and on 19 February 1897,
she participated in the premiere of Bruneau’s Messidor.
That same year, in 1891, she also appeared at Covent Garden in London
as Carmen and in the English premiere of Bruneau’s Le Rêve. On 2 February 1900, she created the role of the Mother
in the premiere of Charpentier’s Louise
at the Opéra-Comique.
In 1889, she married the conductor Léon Jehin (1853–1928), who was
active at the Monte Carlo Opera, where she regularly guested from that year
onward. There, on 4 March 1894, she sang the title role in the posthumous
premiere of César Franck’s opera Hulda.
On 9 March 1895, she appeared in Lalo’s La
Jacquerie, and on 14 February 1903, in Eugène d’Harcourt’s Le Tasse. On 14 February 1905, she
sang the role of the Baroness in the premiere of Massenet’s Chérubin.
She continued to perform at the Monte Carlo Opera until 1913, appearing
in roles such as Gertrude in Thomas’s Hamlet,
in Boito’s Mefistofele (1910,
1912), in Saint-Saëns’s Hélène,
as well as in Wagner’s Das Rheingold
and Siegfried (1910, 1911, and
1913), and as the voice of the Mother in Les
Contes d’Hoffmann (1911).
Chronology
of some appearances
1874 Brussels
Alhambra Theatre Giroflé-Girofla
1879 Brussels Théâtre de la Monnaie Mignon
1881 Brussels Théâtre de la Monnaie Herodiade
1884 Brussels Théâtre de la Monnaie Sigurd
1885-1891 Paris Opéra-Comique
TRACKLIST
L'anneau
d'argent (Chaminade) 17834 Edison 2-min cylinders, Paris 1906
Noël Païen
(Massenet) 17821 Edison 2-min cylinders, Paris 1906
Prophète
(Meyerbeer) Ah mon fils 97041 xP4299 Odeon, Paris 1908-06
Prophète
(Meyerbeer) Arioso 17833 Edison 2-min cylinders, Paris 1906
Samson et
Dalila (Saint-Saëns) Mon coeur s'ouvre 17822 Edison 2-min cylinders, Paris 1906
Samson et
Dalila (Saint-Saëns) Mon coeur s'ouvre 97028 xP4298 Odeon, Paris 1908-06
Trovatore
(Verdi) La flamme brille 60720 xP3938 Odeon, Paris 1908
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