Sass, Marie Constance

1838

Belgian soprano singer; born in Ghent. While singing chansons in a Paris cafe she was " discovered " by Mme. Ugalde, who taught her and recommended her to Carvalho, who engaged her for his company. She made her debut as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro at the Theatre Lyrique, Paris. From 1860 to 1871 she sang with great success in Paris, then in Italy. She was married to M. Castelmary in 1864, but separated from him the following year. Mme. Sass, or Sax, as her name is sometimes spelled, won many triumphs on the operatic stage because of her wondrous voice and great dramatic talent. Her greatest successes were won in the operas of Gounod, Meyerbeer, Halevy, Verdi, Spontini and Wagner. After being driven from Paris, where she was most popular, by the Franco-Prussian War, she took refuge in Italy and became equally popular in that country.