A great singer with an eventful life, pianist, talented composer, Pauline Viardot (1821 – 1910) stands out as one of the greatest musicians of her time.
His sister's replacement
Pauline Viardot's career as a singer has its roots in the authoritarian teaching of her parents and in a tragedy, that of the death of her sister, Maria Malibran, thirteen years her senior. Born July 18, 1821 in Paris, Pauline Garcia is the daughter of Maria Joaquina Sitches, soprano singer, and Manuel Garcia, tenor who performs on all stages of Europe, both born in Spain. Her brother Manuel Garcia Junior, her sister Maria and she share a love and an immense talent for music… as well as parents who are strict and determined to make musicians of their children and singers of their daughters.
From an early age, the Garcia children learn music theory, music and the piano. Maria took her first steps on stage at the age of five. Destined to become a singer, she underwent a particularly strict teaching from her father, who regulated her days, her rhythm, her outings, even her diet. From the age of seventeen, she met with success. It was Manuel Garcia who supervised the training of his three children and then, on his death in 1832, his wife took over. Pauline quickly became famous for her talents for the piano. At the age of twelve, she took lessons from the composer and virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt, who would say of her:“She is an arch-musician! »
His life is about to take another turn. In 1836, at the age of 28 and at the height of her glory, Maria died following a riding accident. Her mother then decides that her little sister, who is only fifteen, will take her place. It's decided:Pauline will be a singer. In 1838, at the age of sixteen, she appeared on stage in the role of Desdemona (Otello ), walking so far in the footsteps of her sister that she wears, it is said, her dress and her jewelry. Despite the intense pressure to which she is subjected, between the demands of her mother and the inevitable comparison with her deceased sister, Pauline triumphs over the ordeal. She was quickly recognized as much for her technique and the quality of her voice as for her expressiveness, her acting and her talents as a tragic actress.
Singer
Pauline Garcia marries at the same time the career of singer and family life. Intelligent, charming, gifted, talented and although considered ugly by the standards of the time, she was noticed by more than one man, notably Alfred de Musset. But it was with Louis Viardot, writer, critic and theater director, a man twenty years her senior, that she married in 1840; on this choice, she listens to the advice of her friend George Sand, with whom she will be very close until her death. The couple, who will have four children, enjoy a happy family life. Louis leaves his management position to follow his wife on her European tours.
Pauline performs in England, Spain, Germany and in all European capitals; in Saint Petersburg, where she met with triumph in 1843 – 1844, she met the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev with whom she had an affair, and who would be a great friend of the family for decades. Frequenting the greatest musicians and artists of her time, Hector Berlioz, Charles Gounod, Camille Saint-Saëns and Frédéric Chopin, she performed notably in Norma by Bellini, Orpheus by Gluck, The Prophet by Meyerbeer. Operas are composed for her or are dedicated to her.
A complete musician
Pauline Viardot is not only a singer; she is a complete musician, multiplying interests, passions and projects. Despite her career and family life, she has not given up on her first love:the piano. With her friend, the virtuoso pianist and talented composer Clara Schumann, she plays four hands in public and in private. The latter will also say of her:"She is the most brilliant woman I have ever known". Wherever she lives, in France or in Baden Baden in Germany, the singer brings together around her the artists, musicians and intellectuals of her time; his home is a true artistic center.
In addition, Pauline composes from a young age, and continues this work in her old age, almost until her death. She composes instrumental works, choral works, songs and operas, and sets to music texts by Théophile Gautier, Alfred de Musset, Pierre de Ronsard, or even Pouchkine, Goethe and Dante. Polyglot, she who has lived in France and Germany and traveled throughout Europe, she composes in several languages and adapts in particular in music many Russian texts. She wrote two operas:Cinderella , based on the tale by Perrault, and The Last Sorcerer , to a libretto by Ivan Turgenev. His pieces are performed by his children, all of whom have become musicians, and by his students.
Because to singing, piano and music, is added teaching:Pauline teaches singing at the National Conservatory of Paris, to young girls including Felia Litvinne and Jeanne Gerville-Réache. She devoted herself especially to it, as well as to composition, when her stage career ended. After triumphing in Orpheus and Eurydice , her voice broke and she had to leave the stage in 1863, at the age of 42. But Pauline has enough passions and projects to remain active and recognized for her musical genius.
After the death of Louis Viardot and Ivan Tourgueniev, Pauline moved to Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris. She is dedicated to teaching, supporting young artists, composing and her grandchildren. Her opera Cinderella appeared in 1904, when she was 83 years old. She died in May 1910, at the age of 88, leaving behind her the memory of a singer with the gifts of a tragic actress and a great musical work.