Francesca Lebrun
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Francesca Lebrun (March 24, 1756 - May 14, 1791) was a noted 18th-century German singer and composer. A consummate singer and a stellar composer, Francesca Lebrun shone brightly in a golden age of music.
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 was renowned for her vocal dexterity and highly sought after by notable contemporaries, such as Schweitzer, Holzbauer, and Salieri, for the lead roles in their most challenging opuses.
Her talent extended beyond the stage to the manuscript tablet and the keyboard; six sonatas for fortepiano and violin of hers survive and have been recorded. Though her career was short, only 19 years, she left an indelible mark in an especially vibrant age.
[edit] Biography
Born on March 24, 1756 Francesca was the eldest child in the family of gifted musicians. Her mother (Barbara Toeschi) a dancer, her father (Innozenz Danzi) an Italian cellist, were the core of the elite elector Mannheim court performers in the late 1750’s. Her brothers, Franz (Ignaz) Danzi and Joahnn Baptist were cellist and violinist respectively and were successful composers.
She made her first public appearance as a singer at the age of 16 and the following year was engaged by the Mannheim Opera. There seems to be some debate whether she first performed in Gassmann’s L’amore artigiano in May 1772, or Sacchini’s La Contadina in Corte, the role for which she earned the title virtuosa da camera. She stayed with the Mannheim Court Opera for 4 years and was cast in the premier roles in the Mannheim court opera: Parthenia in Schweitzer’s Alceste (1775, Schwetzingen) and Anna in Holzbauer’s Günther von Schwarzburg (1777). The last, which was a piece, composed for specifically for her voice. At twenty-one she traveled to London to sing 4 opera series by J.C. Bach & Saccini.
In 1778, she married oboe virtuoso and composer Ludwig August Lebrun (1746-1790) from Mannheim and toured with him. That summer she, now known as Senora Lebrun and Ludwig toured Italy, but it was in the Spring of 1779 when she stunned her audience at the Concert Spirituel in Paris by singing Italian lyrics to the instrumental parts of symphonies concertantes. Her compositions for Fortepiano and Violin were published in 1780. Schubart noted that she could sing A, 3 octaves above middle C with ‘clarity and distinctness’. Charles Burney wrote that and when she sang, accompanied by her husband on oboe, divisions of thirds and sixths, it was impossible to discover who was uppermost of the interval. 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.
Francesca’s family flourished as well, she gave birth to daughter Sophie while in London in June of 1781 and daughter Rosine in 1783 in Munich. Francesca and Ludwig toured around Europe again in 1785, spending a season in Naples, then Berlin and London where Ludwig eventually passed in 1790. She performed only twice after his death and survived him by only five months. She passed on May 14, 1791 at the age of 35. At a time when women’s contributions to music and the stage were decorative if not completely discouraged Madame Lebrun left an impression of exceptional craft and talent.
She 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.
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.
Her daughter Rosine Lebrun (1783–1855) was a successful opera singer and was a member of the Munich theatre company, 1801–30 and Sophie Dülken became a well-known pianist and composer. Sophie’s daughters and their daughters also became musicians.
[edit] Discography
- Francesca LeBrun (1756 - 1791), Six Sonatas for Fortepiano and Violin, Op. 1, World Premiere Recording of Complete OP.1
- Performed by: Monica Jakuc & Dana Maiben
- Available: [1]
- Women Composers At The Courts Of Europe Sonata (6) for Piano and Violin, Op. 1: no 2 in E flat major by Francesca Lebrun
- Performer: Jaroslav Sveceny (Violin), Fine Zimmermann (Harpsichord)
- Available: [2]
