Maria Duchêne

Maria Duchêne-Billiard (5 December 1883 – 2 April 1947) was a French contralto who built a career spanning Broadway and the Metropolitan Opera. Born in France, she arrived in the United States in 1907 at the age of 23, already identifying herself professionally as an artiste.

In 1910, Duchêne created the role of Adah in the Broadway production of Naughty Marietta, marking her credited stage debut in the United States. Two years later, she joined the Metropolitan Opera, where she remained a member of the company from 1912 to 1916, accumulating 166 performances over that period.

Her Metropolitan Opera debut took place on 16 March 1912, when she appeared as La Cieca in Amilcare Ponchielli's La Gioconda alongside Emmy Destinn in the title role and Enrico Caruso as Enzo, with Arturo Toscanini on the podium. That same year, she appeared in the American premiere of Boris Godunov as the Nurse, again under Toscanini's direction. On 26 February 1914, she portrayed the Peasant Woman in the United States premiere of Gustave Charpentier's Julien.

Among the roles Duchêne performed at the Met were Amneris in Aida, Giulietta in The Tales of Hoffmann, Lola in Cavalleria rusticana, Maddalena in Rigoletto, the Old Woman in L'amore dei tre re, Rosette in Manon, Schwertleite in Die Walküre, and the Solo Madrigalist in Manon Lescaut. On 12 March 1913, she was scheduled to sing Giulietta in Les Contes d'Hoffmann but fainted before performing; the role was assumed by Madame Fremsted, who had sung the part at the work's United States premiere. A personal loss coincided with a professional engagement in 1915, when her mother, Elizabeth Duchêne (1859–1915), died of pneumonia at the moment Duchêne was preparing to take the stage as Lola in Cavalleria rusticana.

Her final performance with the Metropolitan Opera, her 166th, was the role of Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera, given at the Boston Opera House on 18 April 1916. On 7 October 1926, she married André Dumont (1896–1942), a French harmonium maker based in Les Andelys; the couple divorced on 11 August 1937. Duchêne died on 2 April 1947.