Célestine Galli-Marié

Célestine Galli-Marié (; November 1840 – 22 September 1905) was a French mezzo-soprano, who is most famous for creating the title role in Georges Bizet's Carmen.

Early life She was born Marie-Célestine Laurence Marié de l'Isle in November 1840 in Paris. |group=n She was taught singing by her father, Mécène Marié de l'Isle, who also had a successful opera career. At the age of fifteen, she had married a sculptor named Galli (who died in 1861) Undertaking much touring, she performed Carmen in Brussels (16 January 1876), Naples (the Italian premiere), Genoa, Barcelona, Lyon, Liege and Dieppe before returning in the Opéra-Comique revival of the original production on 22 October 1883. She sang in Victor Massé's Fior d'Aliza, 's La Petite Fadette, and Ernest Guiraud's Piccolino. She also appeared as Taven in Gounod's Mireille and Rose Friquet in Maillart's Les dragons de Villars. Sometime in the late 1860s and early 1870s she and the composer Émile Paladilhe became lovers. Curtiss notes that she kept pet marmosets, and sometimes took them to rehearsal.

Her voice was described as being of a good timbre, with clear diction and phrasing. A high mezzo-soprano voice was at one time referred to as "Galli-Marié". Galli-Marié roles are now sometimes sung by sopranos.

Family Her sisters Irma and were also professional singers. Irma created roles in L'amour chanteur in 1864 and in Les bergers in 1865; she toured the US before returning to the Paris Opéra-Comique. Paola was prominent in operetta and created roles for Charles Lecocq, appearing a great deal in the US. Galli-Marié and Irma sang together in Madeleine at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens in 1869.

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