Marcelle Demougeot

Marcelle Demougeot (8 June 1876 – 23 November 1931), born Jeanne Marguerite Marcelle Decorne, was a French soprano, "the best-known French Wagnerian singer of her generation".^[1]

Marcelle Demougeot
Marcelle Demougeot as Brünnhilde
Born	8 June 1876 Dijon
Died	23 November 1931 Sainte-Maxime
Occupation	Opera singer (soprano)

Early life

Jeanne Marguerite Marcelle Decorne was born in Dijon,^[2] where she studied with Charles Laurent. She trained further as a singer at the Conservatoire de Paris.^[1][3]

Career

Demougeot made her professional debut in 1902, as Donna Elvira in Paris. She was known for singing Wagnerian roles including Brünnhilde and Kundry.^[1] She sang in several premiere productions, including Le fils de l’étoile (1904) by Camille Erlanger, Ariane (1906) by Massenet, a French-language production of Das Rheingold (1909) by Wagner, Déjanire, (1911) by Camille Saint-Saëns, and the Paris premiere of Parsifal (1914).^[4] She made several recordings before 1910.^[5]

In 1916, Demougeot sang at a benefit for blind veterans in Vichy.^[6] She sang La Marseillaise outside the Palais Garnier to mark the signing of peace at the end of World War I, and later sang at a victory festival in Ostend.^[7] In 1919 she sang at the official Bastille Day celebrations in Paris.^[8] In 1924 she sang during festivities surrounding the Summer Olympics in Paris.^[9]

Personal life

Demougeot died in 1931, in Sainte-Maxime.^[1]