Caroline Grassari

Caroline Grassari, born Marie-Caroline-Josephine Gérard (baptised 15 June 1795 – after 1832) was a French opera singer active at the Paris Opéra from 1816 to 1828 where she sang leading soprano roles. Amongst the many roles she created were Almazie in Isouard's Aladin ou La lampe merveilleuse and Aurora in Carafa's La belle au bois dormant.

Life and career Grassari was born Marie-Caroline-Josephine Gérard in Tongeren, Belgium, where she was baptised on 15 June 1795. Her father was , a highly decorated French general. Her mother, Anne-Christine Tournay, was the daughter of Tongeren's Burgomaster. Her parents divorced in her childhood and she initially lived with her mother in Belgium, where she began her musical studies. In 1814, she was sent to Paris under the care of her father and finished her studies at the Conservatoire de Paris.