Augustine Albert


Augustine Albert, also known as Augustine Albert-Himm was a French opera singer who sang leading soprano roles at the Paris Opéra from 1806 to 1823. Amongst the many roles she created in their world premieres was the title role of Spontini's Olimpie. Born in Paris and trained at the Conservatoire de Paris, she was also a principal singer of the Chapelle royale until 1830. She was married to Albert, danseur noble of the Paris Opéra.

Life and career

Albert was born Louise-Marguerite-Augustine Himm in Paris. She entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1803 where she was a pupil of Charles-Henri Plantade. The following year she received the conservatory's first prize in singing and later studied with the castrato singer Girolamo Crescentini. She first appeared at the Paris Opéra in 1803 at the age of 12 as L'Amour in Cherubini's Anacréon. However, her official debut there came in 1806 when she sang Antigone in Sacchini's Œdipe à Colone.
She went on to sing in the world premieres of multiple operas and also appeared in the leading soprano roles of many others, including Julia in La Vestale, Amazily in Fernand Cortez, and Eurydice in Orphée et Eurydice. After her marriage in 1811 to the dancer Albert, she performed under the name Augustine Albert. The couple had two children, a son Alexander, and a daughter Elisa, both of whom became dancers of some note but never achieved the fame of their father.
For many years Albert was also a principal singer in the Chapelle royale of Louis XVIII and later Charles X. She retired from the Paris Opéra in 1823 but continued as a singer of the Chapelle royale until 1830 when she retired to Versailles. The date of her death is unknown, but she was still alive in 1846 according to an article on artists receiving pensions from the Paris Opéra in L'Album de Sainte-Cécile.

Roles created

Roles created by Albert in their world premieres include: