page_title: Sophie Cruvelli
section_title: 1851–1852: Théâtre-Italien (Paris) and Her Majesty's (London)
hierarchical_section_title: Sophie Cruvelli / 1851–1852: Théâtre-Italien (Paris) and Her Majesty's (London)
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Portrait de Mlle Sophie Cruvelli, de l'Opéra
context_page_description: Sophie Johanne Charlotte Crüwell, vicountess Vigier, stage name Sophie Cruvelli was a German opera singer. She was a dramatic soprano who had a brief but stellar public career especially in London and Paris in the middle years of the 19th century. She was admired for her vocal powers and as a tragédienne. Both Verdi and Meyerbeer created operatic roles with the intention that she should first perform them.
context_section_description: When Benjamin Lumley also became impresario of the Paris Théâtre-Italien in 1851, he engaged Cruvelli and the tenor Sims Reeves for both London and Paris. Reeves made his own Paris debut in the winter season in Linda di Chamounix, with Henrietta Sontag, and then went on to partner Cruvelli in her debut there, in April 1851, in Ernani. This was a sensation, and in Paris she also sang Norma, La Sonnambula, Fidelio and Semiramide.
  It was however at Her Majesty's, London on 20 May 1851, that she and Reeves won very great acclaim for their Fidelio, the first of five performances which established her in the public mind as a leading tragédienne: critics compared her with her great predecessors in the role, Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient and Maria Malibran. Gardoni and Calzolari led the Chorus of Prisoners. For this production, musical recitatives were composed by Michael Balfe imitating Beethoven's style, pointing the content of the dialogue with motifs drawn from the principal arias. Most appreciated them, but James William Davison, critic of The Times, was angered because he claimed that Cruvelli had altered the music 'in such a way as to bring it within range of mediocre capabilities.' Chorley, never an admirer, thought this was the turning-point, where her decline began. Then three performances of Norma, in which Cruvelli gave herself free rein, generated much enthusiasm in London. Cruvelli sang at Buckingham Palace on 7 June 1851, and was invited again the following year.
  The London season included the première of Sigismond Thalberg's opera Florinda, which did not survive despite a cast including Cruvelli, Reeves, Calzolari, Coletti and Lablache, and despite a royal visit to the performance. This was the London debut of Sophie's sister Maria Cruvelli, in a contralto role. But Cruvelli's successes continued there with Le nozze di Figaro with Sontag, Fiorentini, Coletti, Ferranti and Lablache, and in Ernani with Sims Reeves. Linda di Chamounix was given with both Cruvelli sisters, 'which was less congenial to the wild and passionate nature of the charming Sophie than any of her more tragic parts.'
  Michael Balfe's opera Les Quatre fils Aymon based on The Four Sons of Aymon was given, as I quattro fratelli as a benefit for the composer, and was a triumph: 'Cruvelli, aided by Gardoni, Pardini, Coletti, and Massol, secured a most effective and spirited execution for the work.' The Her Majesty's concerts took place, including a notable performance of the trio 'Don't tickle me I pray' with each part triplicated, with sopranos Cruvelli, Sontag and Jenny Duprez, tenors Reeves, Calzolari and Gardoni, bassi Lablache and others. Cruvelli had 'extra' performances of Il barbiere and La Sonnambula (sung during the season by Sontag), and was considered to have been the star of the very illustrious 1851 season at Her Majesty's.
  Late in 1851 Cruvelli went to the Théâtre-Italien for the winter, and the following spring returned to London to sing with Gardoni and Lablache, appearing in La Sonnambula and Il barbiere di Siviglia, Ernani and Fidelio. However, the affairs of the theatre were failing, a situation fed by rumour and despondency. Lumley's company made valiant efforts: the stalwarts, Cruvelli, Lablache, and Gardoni sang Norma, and were powerful attractions. Lumley had achieved the remarkable coup of booking the soprano Johanna Jachmann-Wagner to sing at Her Majesty's in May 1852, but she (or her father and agent Albert, Richard Wagner's brother) were bribed by a better offer from the Covent Garden management and broke their contract. A lawsuit followed.
caption: Portrait of Sophie Cruvelli by Karl Friedrich Johann von Müller [de] (1852) Château de Compiègne
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