Pauline Viardot (1821-1910) Romance from Six Morceaux VWV 3003
Violin: Anna Ovsyanikova
Piano: Elena Kiseleva
Filmed at Hidden Gems concert at St Mary Le Strand
Pauline Viardot was born on this day - 18 July 1821.
French dramatic mezzo-soprano (three octave), pedagogue and composer of Spanish descent, born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García came from a musical family and took up music at a young age. She began performing as a teenager and had a long and illustrious career as a star performer.
In 1837, 16-year-old Pauline García gave her first concert performance in Brussels. She made her opera debut as Desdemona in Rossini’s Otello in London in 1839. This proved to be the surprise of the season. Despite her flaws, she had an exquisite vocal technique combined with an astonishing degree of passion.
Her friend George Sand (who later based the heroine of her 1843 novel Consuelo on her) had a role in discouraging her from accepting the first marriage proposal she received from Alfred de Musset, directing her instead to Louis Viardot (1800–1883). The marriage took place on 18 April 1840. He was 39 or 40, she 18. He was devoted to her and became the manager of her career. Her children followed in her musical footsteps. Her son Paul became a concert violinist, her daughter Louise Héritte-Viardot became a composer and writer, and two other daughters became concert singers.
Her marriage did not stop the steady stream of infatuated men. The Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev in particular fell passionately in love with her after hearing her rendition of The Barber of Seville in Russia in 1843. In 1845, he left Russia to follow Pauline and eventually installed himself in the Viardot household, treated her four children as his own, and adored her until he died. She, in turn, critiqued his work and through her connections and social abilities, presented him in the best light whenever they were in public. The exact status of their relationship is a matter of debate. Other men closely linked to her included the composers Charles Gounod (she created the title role in his opera Sapho) and Hector Berlioz (who initially had her in mind for the role of Dido in Les Troyens, but changed his mind, which led to a cooling of his relations with the Viardots).
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