Sophie Arnould

Sophie Arnould (13 February 1740, in Paris, France – 18 October 1802, in Paris, France) was a French operatic soprano. Biography Born Magdeleine Sophie Arnould, she studied in Paris with Marie Fel and La Clairon, and made her stage debut at the Opéra de Paris on 15 December 1757 and sang there for 20 years. She created for Christoph Wilibald Gluck the roles of Eurydice in Orphée et Eurydice and the title role in Iphigénie en Aulide. She also obtained considerable success in operas by Jean-Philippe Rameau, François Francoeur, and Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny. Her love life was extremely colorful. Her tumultuous relationship with Louis-Léon de Brancas, duc de Lauragais, resulted in four children, including , colonel of the First Empire dead at Essling. She was also the lover of Paul Barras and Nicolas-François de Neufchâteau, among many others. In fact, she was notorious for having as many affairs with women as with men, notably Fanny Raucourt, Mme de Villeroy and the Princess of Hénin.