Marie Delna

as Orphee in " Orphee & Euryduce" in the Berlioz-Viardot version of Gluck’s opera

MARIE DELNA
(Marie Ledant)
1875 -932
French contralto

Studied with Rosine Laborde. In June 1892, she made a debut, as Didon in Les Troyens à Carthage.
Massenet chose her as his first Charlotte in Werther in Paris, in January 1893, and later that year she created Marceline in Bruneau’s L'attaque du Moulin. She created Marion in Godard's La Vivandière 1895 at the Opéra-Comique In 1896, Delna sang Orphée in the first Opéra-Comique production of the Berlioz-Viardot version of Gluck’s opera,
Delna took part in the first Covent Garden performance of L’attaque du moulin in 1894. Her Italian debut was in 1897 in Milan. In May 1898 she moved for a short while from the Opéra-Comique for the Paris Opéra, where she was Fidès in Le prophète and returned to Berlioz as Cassandre in the Paris premiere of La prise de Troie. She also sang La favorite and Samson et Dalila, as well as creating Ginèvra in Victorin de Joncières's Lancelot. 1900 she Carmen for the first time, April 1901 saw her creating Marianne in Bruneau’s L’Ouragan. And she portrayed Fée Grignotte (the witch) in Hänsel und Gretel. In 1902 she sang Margaret in the revival of Le roi d'Ys.In 1903, while taking part as Carmen at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, she married and retired from the stage. She later resumed her career with several concerts then productions at the Théâtre-Lyrique de la Gaîté as La Vivandière, Orphée and in L'attaque du moulin. The following season she sang Fidès and Léonore (La favorite).
Delna made her Metropolitan Opera début as Orfeo conducted by Toscanini, but other appearances were curtailed for various reasons. The next stage of her career included , the creation of Tilli in La Lépreuse by Lazzari (1912), During her career Delna performed at major houses such as La Monnaie, Covent Garden, La Scala, Teatro Lirico Milan, Metropolitan New York, Opera de Monte-Carlo and the Teatro Regio (Parma).
During the First World War she sang widely in concerts for troops, then in November 1925 appeared in the premiere of Maurin des Maures by Léo Puget (Miss Rabasse) at the Folies-Dramatiques.