Marie-Stéphanie Meillet by Pesme

Marie-Stéphanie Meillet-Meyer (1828-?); French soprano.
In 1848 she made her debut (under the name of Meyer) at the Opéra-Comique as Fiamma in Boulanger’s “Le Diable à École”. Here she created the role of Cadige in the première of Halévy’s “La fée aux roses” (1849) and the role of Lisanka in “La dame de pique” (1850) also by Halévy. In 1851 she married the baritone Auguste-Alphonse Meillet (1828-1871), who had studied together with her at the Paris Conservatoire National. From then on they had a kind of joint career; in 1852 they were both engaged at the Théâtre-Lyrique where they were very successfull. In 1854 she sang at the first performance of Hector Berlioz's oratorio "L'enfance du Christ" the rôle of Maria while her husband Auguste Meillet sang the role of Joseph. In 1862 they both left the Théâtre-Lyrique and sang at French provincial theaters. In the season 1863/64 they were enaged at the “La Monnaie” at Brussels and in the following years they continued their careers at Paris.