View source for Fanny Heldy

{{Short description|Belgian lyric soprano opera singer}}
[[File:Heldy Harcourt 1939.jpg|thumb|Fanny Heldy in 1939]]
'''Fanny Heldy''' (29 February 1888 – 13 December 1973) was a Belgian [[lyric soprano]] opera singer.

==Life==
Born '''Marguerite Virginie Emma Clémentine Deceuninck''' in [[Ath]] (some sources say Liège), [[Hainaut Province]], Belgium, she graduated from the [[Royal Conservatory of Liège]]. Heldy made her professional debut as a substitute in the premiere of ''Ivan the Terrible'', by [[Raoul Gunsbourg]] (at [[La Monnaie]], 26 November 1910). Between 1914 and 1918 she sang in a number of major roles at [[Opéra de Monte-Carlo]], making her first Paris appearance at the [[Opéra-Comique]] in 1917 as Violetta in ''[[La traviata]].'' She portrayed Juliette in [[Charles Gounod]]'s ''[[Roméo et Juliette]]'' at the [[Palais Garnier|Paris Opéra]] in 1920.

In 1923, she made the historic (some say first) recording of the [[Jules Massenet]] opera ''[[Manon]]'', conducted by [[Henri Büsser]], for [[Pathé Records]].<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000004BOF ''Manon'' (Fanny Heldy) recording at amazon.com]</ref> In December of that year, she sang the title role in ''[[Esclarmonde]]'' by Massenet during the opera's revival at the Paris Opéra.<ref>{{Almanacco|dmy=24-12-1923|match=Esclarmonde}}</ref>

For more than twenty years, Heldy was France's leading opera star, while gaining international recognition through her performances at [[La Scala]] in Milan and at the [[Royal Opera House]] in London. In 1936 she participated in the movie ''Opéra de Paris''.<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q123563678|title=Opéra de Paris|description=(1936)}}</ref>

She retired in 1939, residing at Château de Mivoisin, a 36 square kilometre property located 1½ hours south of Paris in [[Dammarie-sur-Loing]], [[Loiret]].

She married business tycoon [[Marcel Boussac]], whose holdings included the [[Christian Dior|House of Dior]]. A [[Thoroughbred racing|thoroughbred horse racing]] fan, her husband operated one of the most successful stables in racing history and she owned several [[stakes race]] winners herself.

Heldy died in 1973 and was buried in the [[Montmartre Cemetery]], Paris. The "Prix Fondation Fanny Heldy" is awarded to one soprano each year for recording excellence.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{Find a Grave|28742542}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080527090835/http://www.historicopera.com/jsingerh_page1.htm Historic Opera Singers bios and photos]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130502125932/http://www.pippa.fr/Fanny-Heldy-carnet-de-souvenirs-d Fanny Heldy, Carnet de Souvenirs d'une Cantatrice]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heldy, Fanny}}
[[Category:1888 births]]
[[Category:1973 deaths]]
[[Category:French racehorse owners and breeders]]
[[Category:Belgian operatic sopranos]]
[[Category:Burials at Montmartre Cemetery]]
[[Category:People from Ath]]
[[Category:20th-century Belgian women opera singers]]