Demeur, Anne Arsene

1827-1892

A celebrated soprano, who appeared with success in concert and opera. Her maiden name was Charton. She was born in France, and became a pupil of Bizet at Bordeaux, where she made her debut as Lucia in 1842. She sang at Toulouse and Brussels in 1846, then in London in a French comic opera, and in 1853 she made successful tours through Russia and North and South America. In 1847 she married M. Demeur, the flutist, and became shortly afterward the first female singer of Mitchell's French Company at the St. James Theatre, London, winning success in many of the light operatic roles. She made a deep impression in French comic opera, and after singing at the Opera Comique, Paris, from 1849 to 1853, she adopted the Italian stage. Afterwards she appeared at St. Petersburg, Vienna, and notably at Paris as Desdemona, in 1'862. Later she sang at Madrid. She made successful appearances in Berlioz's Beatrice and Benedict, and her last appearance in opera was as Cassandra, in 1879, in Berlioz's Prise de Troie. Mme. Demeur lived in retirement for several years, only emerging to sing at a few concerts and at the Berlioz Festival at the Paris Opera in 1870.