91

The woman in this 1907 portrait by Félix Resurrección Hidalgo is the French operatic soprano Rose Delaunay, born Félice Rose Bünzli (January 28, 1857 – December 31, 1939). Rose was the daughter of Auguste Bünzli, a Swiss-born violinist from whom she also had her first voice lessons. She would go on to formally learn music at the Paris Conservatory (Conservatoire de Paris) and piano under the tutelage of French pianist and composer Félix Le Couppey. Rose won her first award at the conservatory, even though she had only been ten months into her studies. Rose Bünzli would eventually marry the French actor Louis Delaunay, son of Louis-Arsène Delaunay, who was also an actor. Now married, Rose Delaunay would have a prolific and stable career in musical theater, gracing the opera stage for the first time in 1882 with the role of Isabella in the celebrated French composer Ferdinand Hérold’s Le pré aux clercs under the company Opéra-Comique. From 1883 to 1886, Rose starred in the following operas: as “Anna” in La dame blanche, “Javotte” in Le roi l’a dit, and “Jeannette” in Les noces de Jeannette. During the 1884 - 1885 opera season, Rose played the role of Micaëla in the landmark 200th presentation of Carmen, the widely popular four-act opera by the titan of French musical theater, Georges Bizet. Rose Delaunay’s name was included in the French chemist and coca wine inventor Angelo Mariani’s Figures Contemporaines, an illustrated biography of the world’s most famous personalities and published between 1894 and 1925. In Volume 1 of the book originally written in French and published in 1894, Rose was described by the French journalist and critic Joseph Uzanne as “a delicate, lively Saxon figurine...at once coquettish and serious, mischievous, and naïve, with eyes that you never know whether they will mock or soften.” The book follows with a succinct description of her artistic prowess. [She is] an outstanding actress [and] at the same time, an infinitely skilled and gifted singer; her vocals are light, sure, and brilliant.” Rose would continue performing in operas after leaving the Opéra-Comique company in 1886, performing at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux and at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Over the following years, Rose would never leave the opera stage, appearing and performing in the principal provincial theaters of France. In September 1892, Rose played the role of Serpolette in Robert Planquette’s Les Cloches de Corneville, held at the Théâtre de la Gaîté. She would teach singing at the International Academy of Music (Institut Rudy), located at the Rue de Caumartin in Paris. In 1898, Rose was awarded the Ordre des Palmes académiques by the French government for her outstanding contribution and service to music education Rose Delaunay died on December 31, 1939 in the commune of Saint-Raphaël in the Var department of Southeastern France, where she and her husband had resided since 1922. Félix Resurrección Hidalgo and His Love for Opera Music Beyond the captivating enigma of his works that match his genteel yet mysterious disposition, Félix Resurrección Hidalgo was just like any other man (ilustrado) of his times; he liked the finest and most soothing things in life and even loved music, particularly opera music. In his book Félix Resurrección Hidalgo and the Generation of 1872, painter-critic Alfredo Roces describes the Paris of Hidalgo’s time, specifically when he arrived there in 1884 after his triumphant silver medal win at that year’s Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid for his painting Las Vírgenes Christianas Expuestas al Populacho. “Long wide boulevards and formally arranged gardens give the city style and sparkle,” Roces writes. “In the city’s 24,000 cafes, Parisians joke and laugh, flirt and argue about politics and art. Residents enjoy opera, theater, ballet, concerts, circuses, and horse racing. Imposing sculptural monuments highlight the city’s many grand boulevards.” In the exuberance of Paris, Hidalgo found a soothing avenue for manifesting his tranquil and modest temperament. For instance, Hidalgo found solace in painting in the sprawling and lush urban retreat of the Bois de Boulogne. It was “where he spen[t] much time capturing wooded scenes including one large painting of two ladies on a boat in a pond graced by swans and waterlilies,” Roces notes. Going above and beyond the confines of the Bois de Boulogne, Hidalgo loved the comfort that music universally bestows. Roces writes of an instance when Hidalgo sold one of his paintings just to eagerly rent a frock after being invited by a friend named George Sand to attend an opera. The overarching testament to Hidalgo’s love for music was his and his sister Rosario’s shared bond over the enrapturing beauty of melodies and harmonies. Rosario was Hidalgo’s “best friend” among his siblings, much like Jose Rizal was to her sister, Maria. Hidalgo would send Rosario letters detailing his personal experiences and innermost thoughts. Roces writes, “His main bond with his sister being their mutual love for music, Felix sends her a “hi-tech” gramophone along with some phonograph records.” Many of the records Hidalgo sent to her sister were opera ones, including Enrico Caruso’s La Tosca, Gioconda, and Mephistopheles; Fernando de Lucia’s La donna e mobile; and Sig. Francisco’s La Paloma. In one letter, Hidalgo tells Rosario that “all these records are sung in an irreproachable manner with a truly exceptional style and expression.” Hidalgo even gushes over a Polish singer named Sirota, whom he praised as having “the most beautiful tenor voice that is known.” From these sources, one can see how passionate Hidalgo was as an opera music fan. In this light, one can have a greater appreciation for Hidalgo’s portrait of Rose Delaunay. There are no archival sources that detail how Hidalgo and Delaunay crossed paths. However, one can deduce that Hidalgo may have attended one of Delaunay’s performances during her prime, particularly the wildly successful and classic opera, Carmen. When Hidalgo arrived in France in 1884 and settled at Atelier 12, 43 Boulevard Arago on the outskirts of Paris, Delaunay had been performing under the Opéra-Comique company, whose headquarters is located at the Salle Favart at Place Boïeldieu, which is only less than an hour away from Hidalgo’s address. Hidalgo’s portrait of Delaunay, made when she was 50 years old, even has a handwritten inscription that translates to “To Mr. and Mrs. Delaunay, Souvenir from FR Hidalgo.” In 1907, when Hidalgo painted this portrait, Delaunay was listed in that year’s directory of artists and drama and music educators under the section “Professeurs de Chant et Artistes Lyriques.” The directory puts her address at 44 Avenue de Wagram, less than 40 minutes away from Hidalgo’s studio, now located at 65 Boulevard Arago, Luna’s former studio. Hidalgo’s portrait of Delaunay, made when she was 50 years old, even has a handwritten inscription that translates to “To Mr. and Mrs. Delaunay, Souvenir from FR Hidalgo.” Hidalgo may have been left in awe with Delaunay’s ringing soprano that he immortalized her on canvas. Delaunay may also have even shared musical sentiments with Hidalgo. It is a reminder not only of Delaunay’s vocal prowess that accompanied her in the prime of youth but also of Hidalgo’s genuine love for music—a fondness best manifested in his lyrical and melodiously rich masterpieces that intimately sang of his warmth and nobleness. (Adrian Maranan)