Hortense (Catherine-Jeanne) Schneider

(b Bordeaux, 30 April 1833; d Paris, 6 May 1920). French soprano. One of Offenbach's most successful leading ladies, she was triumphant in La belle Hélène (1864), La Grande-duchesse de Gérolstein (1867) and La Périchole (1868).

Schneider, Hortense (1833-1920). French singer and actress. After appearing in musical productions and acting in vaudeville, she was taken up by Offenbach at the Bouffes-Parisiens and soon became the unchallenged queen of operetta under the Second Empire, starring in La Belle Hélène (1864), La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein (1867), La Périchole (1868), etc.

[S. Beynon John]

Hortense Schneider

Hortense Catherine Schneider (April 30, 1833–May 5, 1920) was a French soprano. She was born in Bordeaux. She created the title roles in Jacques Offenbach's opéra bouffes La belle Hélène (1864), La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (1867), and La Périchole (1868), as well as the lead female role of Boulotte in Barbe-bleue (1866). In all of these she was partnered by Belgian tenor José Dupuis. She was seen as the toast of the Second Empire and was a favorite of royal visitors to Paris. (Because of the favors which she liberally granted to the members of the nobility, she was known as the Passage des Princes.) She retired in 1880, after the death of Offenbach.

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