Francesca Lebrun

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Francesca Lebrun (1756-1791) was a noted 18th-century German singer and composer. She was born Franziska Dorothea Danzi in Mannheim, Germany. Her father was the Italian-born cellist Innocenz Danzi and her younger brother was the composer and cellist Franz Danzi (1763-1826).

She made her first public appearance as a singer at the age of 16 and the following year was engaged by the Mannheim Opera. She married the oboe virtuoso and composer Ludwig August Lebrun (1746-1790) from Mannheim and toured with him under the name of Francesca Lebrun. A celebrated soprano, she sang on major operatic and concert stages through Europe, including England, Germany and Italy to great acclaim. At the opening of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on August 3, 1778, Francesca Lebrun was the female lead in Antonio Salieri's opera Europa Riconoscuita. She created a sensation in 1779 in Paris at the Concert Spirituel through her ability to fit Italian words to instrumental parts of symphonies concertantes and sing them. The Lebruns lived in London from 1779 through 1781 while Francesca appeared at the King's Theater. In 1780 the celebrated English artist Thomas Gainsborough painted her portrait. Several of her children became well-known, including Sophie [Dülken] (1781-after 1815) as a pianist and Rosine (1783-1855) as a singer and actress.

Francesca Lebrun was a respected composer of sonatas for violin and piano and trios for piano, violin and cello. It is thought, too, that she was a fine pianist, as reflected in her writing for the instrument.