 g(11696700)a(1393595))
| | Crespin Régine | | soprano |   
| After initially studying pharmacy, she began training her voice at the Conservatoire National in Paris with Paul Cabanel, Suzanne Cesbron-Viseur and Georges Jouatte. She debuted in 1950 at the Mulhouse Theater (in Alsace) as Elsa in Lohengrin. In 1951she came to the Paris Opéra-Comique as Tosca. In the same year she appeared at the Grand Opéra Paris and triumphed as Elsa in Lohengrin. In 1954-55 she again excelled as Rezia in Weber's Oberon. She became the most important dramatic and Wagnerian soprano of her generation in France. She was a regular at the Grand Opéra, and made many guest appearances at theatres in Provence. In 1956 in Bordeaux she sang in the world premiere of the opera Sampiero Corso by Tomasi. Guest appearances included the Vienna Staatsoper (debut role: Sieglinde in Walküre 1959), Chicago, San Francisco (among other roles, in 1966 as Cassandra und as Didon in Les Troyens by Berlioz), at Covent Garden (1960-64 as the Marschallin, Elsa and Tosca) and at the Städtische Oper Berlin. In 1959 she debuted at La Scala, Milan in the title role of Pizzetti's Fedra. She also visited South America, where, starting in 1962, at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires she achieved great successes, among other roles as Iphigénie in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride. In Paris she was also admired in the title role of Offenbach's La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein. In 1966 she made a guest appearance at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in the title role of Ariadne auf Naxos. From 1958-61 she sang Kundry in Parsifal at Bayreuth; in 1961, she undertook Sieglinde and the 3rd Norn there. In 1959-60 the Glyndebourne festival experienced her Marschallin, considered one of her greatest impersonations. She was also celebrated at the Salzburg Easter Festival in 1967 as the Walküre Brünnhilde. In 1962 she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, New York as the Marschallin and had a great career there even after turning to the mezzo-soprano repertoire in 1977. She appeared at the Met in over one hundred performances of twelve roles, among them Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, Sieglinde, Elsa, Kundry, Brünnhilde in Walküre, Tosca, Charlotte in Werther, Carmen, Santuzza and even as late as 1987 as Mme de Croissy in Dialogues des Carmélites by F.Poulenc. In 1986 she appeared once again at the San Francisco Opera, in 1987 at the Teatro Colón as Mme Flora in The Medium by Menotti. In 1989 she retired from the stage as the old countess in Pique Dame of Tchaikowsky. She became Professor at the Conservatoire National Paris and was named a Knight of the French Legion of Honor by the President of France. She published her memoirs under the title La vie et l'amour d'une femme (Paris, 1982). Her large, dark oprano voice of compelling dramatic expressive power stood out above all in the Wagner repertoire. Recordings on HMV, including a complete Les Dialogues des Carmélites by Francis Poulenc. Also recordings on Decca (Sieglinde in Walküre, Marschallin in Rosenkavalier, Don Quichotte by Massenet), Véga, DGG (Brünnhilde in Walküre, Ring-Cycle), Saga. BJR (Marie-Magdeleine by Massenet), Erato (Carmen), Discocorp (Damnation de Faust), DR (Pénélope by Gabriel Fauré) and Melodram (Parsifal, Bayreuth, 1958). |
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