Description

GERMAINE LÉONTINE ANGÉLIQUE LUBIN (PARIS, FRANCE, 1 FEBRUARY, 1890 – PARIS, FRANCE, 27 OCTOBER, 1979)

She attended the Collège Sévigné in Paris and originally intended to study medicine. She then trained under Isnardon and Martini at the Conservatoire National in Paris, and also studied with the famous soprano Félia Litvinne. In 1912, she made her debut at the Opéra-Comique in Paris as Antonia in Les contes d’Hoffmann. The following year, she appeared in the premiere of Guy Ropartz’s opera Le Pays.

In 1914, she was engaged by the Grand Opéra in Paris, where she remained for thirty years. In 1927, she achieved particular success there as Octavian in the French premiere of Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. At the Grand Opéra, she also appeared in the world premieres of Vincent d’Indy’s La Légende de Saint Christophe (June 6, 1920), Darius Milhaud’s Maximilien (January 5, 1932), and Henri Sauguet’s La Chartreuse de Parme (March 16, 1939).

Her Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio (1930, under Bruno Walter) and her Cassandre in Berlioz’s Les Troyens (1928) were especially admired. In 1930, she sang the title role in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride in Amsterdam. Guest performances brought her wide international acclaim: in 1931 she appeared at the Salzburg Festival as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni; at Covent Garden in London in 1937 as Alceste in Gluck’s Alceste and as Ariane in Dukas’s Ariane et Barbe-Bleue; and in 1938 as Kundry in Parsifal. At the Bayreuth Festival she sang Kundry in 1938 and Isolde in Tristan und Isolde in 1939.

She appeared as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in 1933, and in Rameau’s Castor et Pollux at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in 1935. In 1942, she sang the role of Charlotte in Werther at the centenary celebration for Jules Massenet in Paris.

In 1944, she was arrested on suspicion of collaboration with the German occupying forces, but was subsequently fully exonerated. In 1950, she gave her farewell concert at the Salle Gaveau in Paris. She later taught singing in Paris, where her pupils included Régine Crespin, Udo Reinemann, Nadine Denize, Émile Belcourt, Pierre Fleta, and Rachel Yakar.

TRACKLIST

1. Cantate de la Pentecôte (Bach-Sylvain-St. Etienne) Recorded in 1929 Odeon 123.641 (XXP 6872-1)
2. Erlkönig (Schubert-Goethe) Recording date unknown (PARTX 1350-3)
3. Faust (Gounod) Il était un roi de Thule Recorded 22. 6. 1928 Pathé unissued
4. Freischütz (Weber) Comment trouver le calme Recorded in 1927 Pathé Actuelle X.0612 (N 2006078)
5. Götterdämmerung (Wagner) Qu’un bucher s’elève la-bas Recorded in 1929 Odeon 123.6345 (XXP 6853-1, 6854-1, 6862-3 & 6863-2)
6. Je tremble en voyant ton visage, No. 3 from Le promenoir des deux amants (Tristan L’Hermite, Debussy) Recorded 5 June 1954, broadcast 9 August 1954
7. Liebeslied (Schumann-Goethe) Recording date unknown (PARTX 1351-2)
8. Lied der Suleika (Schumann-Goethe) Recording date unknown (PARTX 1351-2)
9. Lohengrin (Wagner) Seule dans ma misère Recorded in 1929 Odeon 123.613 (XXP 6814-2)
10. Siegfried (Wagner) Dès l’origine jusqu’à cette heure Recorded in 1930 Odeon 123.684 (XXP 7025-2)
11. Sigurd (Reyer) Salut! splendeur du jour Recorded in 1930 Odeon 188.724 (KI 3265-2 & 3266-1)
12. Tannhäuser (Wagner) Salut à toi, noble demeure Recorded in 1929 Odeon 123.613 (XXP 6815-2)
13. Tosca (Puccini) D’art et d’amour Recorded in 1930 Odeon 188.720 (KI 3245-2)
14. Tosca (Puccini) Notre doux nid caché dans la verdure Recorded in 1930 Odeon 188.720 (KI 3246-2)
15. Tristan und Isolde (Wagner) La Mort d’Isolde Recorded in 1929 Odeon 188.696 (KI 2821-3 & 2822-2)
16. Tristesse (Chopin-Litvinne) Recorded in 1929 Odeon 123.641 (XXP 6871-3)
17. Walküre (Wagner) Drapée dans une Cape Noire Recorded in 1930 Odeon 123.684 (XXP 7024-1)