Denise Duval

French soprano Denise Duval was born in Paris on 23 October 1921. She studied music and drama at the Bordeaux Conservatoire. Her debut was as Lola in a 1941 Bordeaux performance of Cavalleria rusticana.

She was best known for her performances of the music of Francis Poulenc, who discovered her. She created the roles of Elle in La voix humaine and Thérèse in Les mamelles de Tirésias. Most notably, she performed the role of Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites.

Duval died in Bex, Switzerland, on 25 January 2016, aged ninety-four.