Sophie Gail

Edmee Sophie Gail née Garre was a French singer and composer, famous for writing romances and opéra comique.

Life

Sophie Garre was born in Paris in the parish of Saint Sulpice, the daughter of Marie-Louise Adelaide Colloz and surgeon Claude-Francois Garre. She studied piano as a child and published her first composition, a romance, at the age of 14. At the age of 19, she married editor Jean-Baptiste Gail and had one son, Jean François Gail.
She and her husband divorced in 1801, and Sophie Garre toured as a singer in Europe. She studied with Fétis, Perne and Sigismund Neukomm and wrote an opera comique as her first work for theater. Her compositions were praised by the critique Castil-Blaze as "the best works in this genre that flowed from the pen of a woman". Her works were very popular during her lifetime, with her two most popular operas accruing more than 250 performances.
She died in Paris of tuberculosis at the age of 43.

Works

Selected works include:

1797, Deus airs for the drama Montoni
1813, Les deux jaloux, opéra comique in 1 act
1814, Il est vrai que Thibaut mérite, romance
1853, Ma Fanchette est charmante, trio
1813, Mademoiselle de Launay à la Bastille, opéra-comique in 1 act
1813 Ma liberté, ma liberté, romance
1814, Angela ou L'atelier de Jean Cousin, opéra comique in 1 act
1814, La Méprise, opéra comique in 1 act
1818, La Sérénade, opéra
1807, N'est-ce pas elle, romance with piano accompaniment
1807, La jeune et charmante Isabelle, romance
1808, Heure de soir, romance with piano and harp accompaniment
1814, Les devoirs du chevalier, romance on a poème de Creuzé de Lesser
1814, Variations concertantes for flute and piano
1861, Transcription variée de Moeris for piano
1815, Prière aux songes, nocturne à deux voix sur un poème de M. Cheurlin, with piano and harp accompaniment
1815, Le souvenir du diable
1838, Le Diable, chansonnette sur un poème d'Arnault with piano
1838, A mes fleurs, with piano
1820, Les langueurs et le Le Serment, nocturnes with piano