Trebelli, Zélia (real name, Gloria Caroline Gillebert)
Trebelli, Zélia (real name, Gloria Caroline Gillebert)
Trebelli, Zélia (real name, Gloria Caroline Gillebert), noted French mezzo-soprano; b. Paris, 1838; d. Étretat, Aug. 18, 1892. She took up the study of voice at 16 with War tel, and in 1859 made her operatic debut as Rosina in ii Barbiere di Siviglia in Madrid; sang at the Berlin Royal Opera in 1860 and at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris in 1861. On May 6, 1862, she made her first appearance in London in Lucrezia Borgia at Her Majesty’s Theatre, remaining a London favorite for a quarter of a century. She sang Siebel in Paust (June 11, 1863), Taven in Mireille (July 5, 1864), and Preziosilla in La forza del destino (June 22, 1867) at their London premieres; appeared at Drury Lane (1868-70), where she sang Frederick in the London premiere of Mignon (July 5, 1870); sang at Covent Garden (1868-71; 1881-82; 1888). She toured the U.S. with Mapleson’s company in 1878; on Oct. 26, 1883, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Azucena, remaining on the company’s roster until 1884. She retired from the operatic stage in 1888. Her husband was the tenor Alessandro Bettini.
Bibliography
M. de Mensiaux, T.: A Biographical Sketch (London, 1890).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire