Yvonne D'Arle at a piano, from a 1921 publication.
Yvonne D'Arle (December 1, 1898 – March 25, 1977) was a French-born American soprano singer, born Eugenie Marguerite Patet. She sang with the Metropolitan Opera from 1921 to 1925.
D'Arle toured in The Lilac Domino early in her career.[5] She was singing and dancing[6] at a New York cabaret[7] in New York when she was discovered by music critic Sylvester Rawling.[4] She joined the Metropolitan Opera in 1921, and sang with them for five years.[8][9] In 1922 she sang at a benefit for the Brooklyn Orphan Asylum Society, with singer Titta Ruffo and dancer Roshanara as her co-stars.[10] She also sang with the Municipal Theatre Association in St. Louis, Missouri, and with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, in the 1920s.[11][12] She toured South America with the Bracale Grand Opera Company.[5] In the summer of 1927 she embarked on a European tour with Titta Ruffo, singing in France (at the Deauville Casino's Grand Opera and at the Ostend Kursaal), Germany, and Switzerland.[13]
D'Arle appeared in three Broadway musical productions: Fancy Free (1918), Countess Maritza (1926-1927),[14] and The Three Musketeers (1928).[15] She sang the national anthem at the launch of the radio station WNEW-AM in 1934.[16]
Personal life
D'Arle was involved with fellow opera singer Titta Ruffo.[17] She married twice. Her first husband, Clyde Edward Ganun, died in the 1918 flu pandemic; her second husband was antiques dealer Salvador Benguiat. She had one son, Clyde Ganun (1917-1983). She died in 1977, aged 80 years, in Cannes, France, where she had a villa in Cap d'Antibes since at least her 1927 European tour.[1][13]
References
^ ab"Yvonne D'Arle, 80, a Soprano with Metropolitan in 20's" New York Times (March 28, 1977); 36. via ProQuest
^"'Maritza's Prima Donna" New York Times (November 7, 1926): X2. via ProQuest
^Albert Ernest Wier, The Macmillan Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians (Macmillan 1938): 424.
