Julie d'Aubigny
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Julie (or Julia) d'Aubigny (1670 – 1707), also known as La Maupin, was a 17th century swordswoman and opera singer. Other sources also refer to her as Emilie or Madeleine d'Aubigny.
Julie d'Aubigny was born 1670 to a family of Gaston d'Aubigny, who was a secretary Count d'Armagnac, the Royal Master of the Horse for the king Louis XIV of France. Her father trained her in dancing, literacy, drawing and fencing, possibly for self-defense. In her teens she became a mistress of the count d'Armagnac and through him was introduced in the court. The count had her married to mister Maupin of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Soon after the affair ended, her husband received an administrative position in the south of France but she decided to stay in the city.
In the following years, d'Aubigny gathered a reputation as a wild woman who hit shopkeepers and fought duels with young aristocrats. She became involved with an assistant fencing master named Serannes. In about 1688, when lieutenant-general of the police Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie tried to apprehend Serannes for killing a man in illegal duel, the pair fled the city to Marseille.
In Marseille, d'Aubigny and Serannes gave duelling exhibitions, sang and told stories in inns. When dueling D'Aubigny dressed in male clothing but did not conceal her gender, which served to increase interest in her. Eventually, she joined the music academy of Pierre Gaultier singing in the theatre under her maiden name.
Eventually she grew bored of Serannes and became involved with a young lady. When the girl's parents put her away in a convent in Avignon, d'Aubigny followed, entering the convent as a novice. There she stole a body of a dead nun, placed it in the bed of her lover and set the room afire to cover their escape. Their affair lasted for three months before the young lady returned to her family. D'Aubigny was charged in absentia - as a male - with kidnapping, body snatching, arson and failing to appear before the tribunal. The sentence was death by fire.
D'Aubigny left for Paris and again earned her living by singing. Near Poitiers she met an old musician named Marechal, who began to teach her until his alcoholism got worse and he sent her on her way to Paris. Along the way, she continued to earn her living singing dressed as a man.
In Villeperdue she fought a victorious duel against three squires and drove her blade through the shoulder of one of them. Next day she asked for his health and found out he was Louis-Joseph d'Albert Luynes, son of the Duke of Luynes. Next evening one of his companions came to offer his apologies and she appeared in his room in female clothing. They became lovers.
After the Count d'Albert recovered and had to return to his unit, d'Aubigny continued to Rouen. There she met Gabriel-Vincent Thévenard, another singer and begun a new affair with him. They continue together towards Paris. In Marais she contacted Count d'Armagnac for help against the sentence hanging over her and he convinced the king to nullify it.
Around 1690 d'Aubigny finally returned to Paris where she began to use name Mademoiselle Maupin. The Paris Opera hired Thévenard immediately, but initially refused her. She befriended an old singer Bouvard who convinced Jean Nicolas Francin, master of the king's household, to accept her in the opera. She debuted as Pallas Athena in Cadmus and Hermione.
Due to both her beautiful voice and her flamboyance, she became quite popular with the audience. Her relationship with her fellow actors and actresses was tempestuous. From the first she was enamoured with Mlle. Rochois, at the time the Opera's star. This quickly embroiled her in arguments and even duels with other members of the troupe. On the side, she became a professional duelist.
When she fought three noblemen in a court ball around 1693, she fell afoul of the king's law that forbade duels in Paris. She fled to Brussels to wait for calmer times. She was briefly a mistress of Maximilian Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria. In 1698 she returned to Paris to resume her singing career. In 1702, André Campra composed Tancréde specifically for her bas-dessus (contralto) range. She later reconciled with her husband and lived with him until his death in 1701. (Some accounts say she lived with him until 1705.) After she retired from the opera in 1705, she entered a convent, where she died in 1707.
