# Marie-Jeanne Larrivée Lemière

Marie-Jeanne Larrivée, born Marie-Jeanne Lemière (Sedan, Ardennes, 1733 – Paris, 1786) was a French soprano.

## Biography

Marie-Jeanne Larrivée was a prominent member of the Paris Opera company, where she made her debut in 1750 under the name of Mlle Lemière (also spelt Lemierre or Le Mière). She was the sister of violinist Jacques Lemière and cellist Jacques-Louis Lemière both engaged at the Paris Opera in the same period. Her parents were Louis-Michel Lemière, a wig maker, and Julienne Lemière.
After performing several light roles as a cover, at the beginning of 1752 Lemière left the theater scene. She probably intended to improve her voice, but her five-year absence from the stage was mainly related to her stormy relationship with the Duke of Gramont, whose abusive behaviour, even bordering on rape, darkened this period of her life. In July 1752 she gave birth to her first daughter, Marie-Antoinette, but neither of the parents acknowledged her, and only her grandfather offered himself as godfather. In 1756 she finally managed to break up with the Duke and the following year she was readmitted to the Opéra with increased salary.
The parts played by Mlle Lemière included roles in the operas Silvie, Omphale (Cardonne), Ovide et Julie (as Julie), Salimes and Céphale et Procris (Grétry). Larrivée-Lemière retired from the theater in 1777. In 1762 she had married her partner, Henri Larrivée, and had two daughters: pianist, harpsichordist and composer Camille Larrivée and violinist Agathe Elisabeth Henriette Larrivée. In 1767, the Larrivées separated. Their two daughters went on to live with their aunt and guardian, Elisabeth-Henriette Larrivée and toured through French provinces in concerts.
Marie-Jeanne Larrivée-Lemière was also considered one of the most esteemed singers of the Concert Spirituel, where she regularly performed between 1750 and 1763, and then more irregularly until 1778, when she retired with a pension of 2,000 francs annually.

## Roles debuted

| Opera | Composer | Role(s) | Date of premiere | Location |
| Thésée (Mondonville) | Jean-Joseph de Mondonville | The high priestess, Minerva; a woman from Athens; a shepherdess, from an enchanted island | 7 November 1765 | Fontainebleau |
| Les Paladins | Rameau | Nérine | 12 February 1760 | Paris Opera |
| Canente (Dauvergne) | Antoine Dauvergne | Canente | 11 November 1760 | Paris Opera |
| Énée et Lavinie (Dauvergne) | Antoine Dauvergne | Venus; Iris | 14 February 1758 | Paris Opera |
| Anacréon | Rameau | Chloë | 1766 | Versailles |
| Acante et Céphise | Rameau | Un'autre bergère | 19 November 1751 | Paris Opera |
| Les fêtes de Paphos | Jean-Joseph de Mondonville | Aglaé (act 1); Amour (act 2) | 9 May 1758 | Paris Opera |
| Sabinus (opera) | François-Joseph Gossec | Éponine | 4 December 1773 | Versailles; in presence of King Louis XV |
| Hippolyte et Aricie (revision of 1757) | Rameau | Une matelote, une bergère, une chasseresse | 1757 | Versailles; in presence of King Louis XV |
| Ernelinde, princesse de Norvège | François-André Philidor | Erneline | 24 November 1767 | Paris Opera |
| Théonis ou Le Toucher | Jean-Claude Trial and Pierre-Montan Berton | Théonis | 13 October 1767 | Paris Opera |
| Titon et l'Aurore | Jean-Joseph de Mondonville | L'Aurore | 22 February 1763 | Paris Opera |
| Silvie | Jean-Claude Trial and Pierre-Montan Berton | L'Amour | 17 October 1765 | Paris Opera |
| Le Carnaval de Parnasse | Jean-Joseph de Mondonville | Florine (prologue); Thalie | 23 June 1767 | Paris Opera |
| Ismène | François Rebel and François Francœur | Ismène | 12 October 1769 | Fontainebleau |