Emma Calvé

Capitolo 2 & 3: Emma

2010-04-01T22:41:00.001-07:00

Capitolo 2: Emma

Non aveva nessuna intenzione di venire al funerale di François ', ma aveva insistito. Emma era stata in grado di vivere la sua vita tranquilla in violazione del passato per molti anni, sempre attenta a non spostare troppo lontano dal cerchio di mentori che aveva contribuito a plasmare la sua visione spirituale precoce e di carriera. Erano tutti qui oggi, però, a pagare il loro rispetto finale di questo uomo che molti in questo piccolo villaggio nel sud della Francia ancora considerato il loro prete. La società, che tutti appartenevano a, aveva continuato a sopravvivere senza la sua presenza e avrebbe continuato a sopravvivere senza il suo.

L'ordine è stato installato su una passerella di pietra ora, dopo aver François appoggiata su una sedia vicino al muro. Guardò surreale indossare il tradizionale abito del sommo sacerdote. Le nappe bordeaux per il lembo del mantello ondeggiava al vento, mentre aspettavano che le ultime parole del Maestro. Le era stato detto che sarebbe stato permesso di prendere uno dei fiocchi di utilizzare come un talismano per il futuro e la cerimonia per commemorare sacralità François di scopo. Emma avrebbe preso uno come ricordo del pomeriggio hanno condiviso che aveva strappato alla sua anima per anni. Era il suo primo amore, l'amore è difficile, l'amore proibito.

Emma era solo all'interno di questo ordine ora. La sua indisponibilità a partecipare ai riti e le cerimonie della società aveva il suo ostracismo da questo potente gruppo. Ha creduto che fosse la sua fama e il silenzio che aveva tenuto al sicuro da rappresaglie, ma tutti su quella passerella interpretato in maniera diversa. E 'stato per le insistenze del loro sommo sacerdote François Bérenger Saunière che il suo status all'interno della società sarebbe stato rispettato, e nient'altro.

La sua tristezza è stata debilitante. Non aveva mangiato molto negli ultimi tre giorni. Emma è stato sorpreso dalla forza delle emozioni quell'uomo poteva ancora chiamare da dentro di lei. Aveva creduto che era su di lui in tutti questi anni, ma il dolore nel suo cuore ha detto altrimenti, come ha fatto il suo ormai ex-marito Galileo Gaspari.

Emma era a disagio a pensare che gli altri che si erano riuniti per questo saluto finale poteva sentire la sua angoscia. Sapeva che era un'attrice migliore di questo, ma il suo corpo e la mente non si sono adeguate al suo tentativo di spensieratezza. Queste persone non spaventarla più. Come lei età, e la sua fama è cresciuta in tutto il mondo, sapeva che non era nel migliore interesse dei gruppi 'di causare un danno. Emma aveva fatto molti potenti alleati in tutto il mondo, tra cui la regina Vittoria e lo zar e la zarina di Russia. Tutto a causa di una voce, pensò, le note cantate in una sala per un momento aveva fatto la sua vita quello che è stato oggi. Era ricca di là dei suoi sogni più selvaggi ed esercitato l'influenza nei circoli altri combattuto a far parte. Aveva deciso di rimanere a casa sua a Quillan per un paio di giorni per avere il suo cuscinetti prima di tornare a Parigi. Avrebbe rivisitare i luoghi che aveva fatto il suo sorriso, tanti anni fa e cercare di mettere a tacere o almeno di venire a patti con Saunière ei suoi sentimenti per lui.

Emma trovato la sua strada per il suo sedile di pietra preferita sulla passerella, un piccolo angolo a destra che conduce alla biblioteca. Aveva trascorso molti giorni e le sere seduta e guardando oltre il bordo delle pareti di questa via di pietra. Oggi, la magnifica valle sottostante era velata di The Whitest di neve. La leggera brezza giocosa alzato e roteato la sua luminosità sul fondovalle. Come al solito, non avrebbe partecipare alla cerimonia di François oggi. Anche se lei non aveva perso la fede nella sacralità della materia, aveva perso il rispetto per molte delle persone coinvolte nella società.

Il tempo è stato amaro, ma Emma non era freddo, la sua lunghezza del cappotto di pelliccia e piano numbing dolore vide a questo. Si mise a sedere e guardare il rito di addio eseguiti su sua anima preferita, e come ha fatto lei, Emma alla deriva e roteato se stessa, indietro nel tempo, quando la sacra unione di maschio e femmina è stata praticata, indietro nel tempo, quando François era la sua voce di ragione.

Capitolo 3: Bérenger

Bérenger e Emma era diventare buoni amici. I sentimenti sono condivisi, anche se contenuta, non era andato via. Era diventato il suo protettore, il suo consigliere, il custode del suo segreto, la sua migliore amica. L'amava e credeva che lei lo amava troppo, e questo era abbastanza per lui. Bérenger era venuto ad accettare che questi ruoli erano più importanza di quella degli amanti. Avrebbe sacrificio che il rapporto per l'intimità di questo. Nessun altro avrebbe mai questo luogo nella sua vita. Era la sua e soltanto sua. Bérenger aveva lamentato con lei, anche se si è rotto il suo cuore, che le loro carriere sono state troppo importante per mettere a repentaglio, in particolare la possibilità che si trovava di fronte a lei. Emma aveva un dono che doveva essere condiviso con il mondo e non poteva interferire con tale. Erano giunti a un accordo che caldo pomeriggio d'agosto, ma solo dopo aver fatto l'amore per l'ultima volta. Sarebbe sicuramente rovina entrambi se non venire a patti con i loro sentimenti. Aveva tentato sul serio di convincerlo a partire con lei, e anche se questo è tutto quello che voleva fare, doveva rimanere. Sarebbe rimasto vicino a Quillan di vedere oltre la loro ragione di vita.

Non è stato sempre facile essere Emma Calvé pensiero Bérenger mentre sorseggiava il suo bicchiere di vino e aspettò a unirsi a lui nel Tour Magdala. Emma e Bérenger andavano a trascorrere il pomeriggio insieme picnic a pochi chilometri dalla chiesa. Sarebbero solo e anche se questo ha tenuto la sua sfida, Bérenger vedeva l'ora di averla tutta per sé. Oggi sarebbe stata una buona giornata per lui.

La vita di una stella aveva i suoi alti meravigliosa, e come entrambi sapevano i suoi bassi pericolose. Emma era arrivato inaspettatamente alla sua porta canonica tre giorni prima, annunciando che sarebbe stata spesa per la settimana prossima. "Caro François", sorrise, "Ho bisogno di essere qui con voi." Aveva lo baciò su entrambe le guance, e puntò dritto per la villa. Bérenger conosceva il trapano. Sarebbe necessario programmare un paio di ricevimenti per contribuire a contenere i pettegolezzi inevitabile che avrebbe seguito la sua partenza. Sempre attenta nella scelta dei suoi ospiti, Bérenger invitato tutti i dignitari locali, come pure il Vescovo, nella speranza che il suo soggiorno si sarebbe visto come un evento speciale per loro in contrapposizione ad una visita per lui.

Emma era arrivato portando doni, un nuovo vestito e il cappello di Marie, biglietti per l'opera a Parigi per il sindaco e sua moglie, un souvenir dal suo viaggio all'estero per Alfred, e, naturalmente, un altro libro raro per Bérenger. La sua generosità e la natura esuberante conquistato il cuore e la lealtà dei maggior parte dei residenti di Rennes-le-Château e dei villaggi circostanti. Ha curato per queste persone ed è stato continuamente la pianificazione del miglioramento successivo per il villaggio o donare denaro per una causa locale o famiglia in difficoltà. Bérenger ed Emma non avrebbe mai potuto smettere di meandri torna alle proprie radici contadine, sempre consapevole della necessità dei poveri. Avrebbe fornire la liquidità e Bérenger il lavoro di questa casa lontano da casa.

I demoni che aveva ossessionato loro negli ultimi undici anni a volte scappano negli angoli di questo santuario collina, solo per riapparire nelle strade di Quillan poco tempo dopo. Il segreto portarono aveva dimostrato di essere più pesante per Emma che per Bérenger. La causa che li aveva uniti era ancora forte su di lui e ha lavorato al giorno verso il suo completamento. Sporadiche visite Emma erano sempre meno spesso e lui temeva che stava diventando troppo coinvolti negli ambienti esoterici di Parigi. Giravano voci che l'occultista Jules Bois era innamorato di lei. Questo uomo bello e intelligente è stato il primo dei suoi amanti potenziale che ha veramente paura. Bérenger sapeva che era un richiamo costante del dolore che portava. Jules sarebbe stata la sua medicina.

Emma amava il potere, e questi due uomini hanno tenuto il loro potere di bene. Jules Bois è stato molti anni più giovane di Emma, una scrittrice di alcune vale la pena pensò, ed era diventato un po 'di celebrità attraverso i duelli che aveva avviato con Stanislav de Guaita e Gérard Encausse meglio noto come Papus. Emma sapeva che avrebbe trovato questa tradizione pericoloso un esercizio altamente romantica ed erotico. La sfida più evidente è stato Jules Bois era disponibile e non lo era. Il picnic e una visita a Quillan era la sua ultima speranza di dissuadere Emma di entrare non solo letto Jules Bois ', ma un mondo molto più pericoloso di Emma potrebbe capire. Emma sarebbe certamente essere utilizzato per la sua ricchezza e fama a dispetto della sua convinzione che portava un peso maggiore nel mondo. La sua ultima speranza era questa visita. Avrebbe convincerla ad andare a Quillan questo pomeriggio per aiutare ricordarle il motivo più forte di stare lontano da Jules Bois. . . sua figlia.
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Capitolo Uno: Emma

2010-04-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

Capitolo Uno: Terrance Demmings

Terrance Demmings gettò la sua borsa sul divano e si tolse la cravatta. Era stata una lunga settimana. Nulla era andato come previsto e il volo di ritorno a meno di ideali di Londra. Ritardi e discorsivo la donna seduta accanto a lui lasciato poco tempo per finire la relazione richiesta dal suo capo Lunedi mattina. Gli Stati Uniti kick off della società aveva avuto successo, e aveva bisogno di fornire i dati ai suoi collaboratori back office a testa. Mettere su il bollitore, avrebbe almeno tentare di trovare qualche minuto questa sera per verificare la sua e-mail e guardare il forum sul suo sito web. Erano quasi le otto, ma una rapida occhiata non poteva male. Terrance è stato un ricercatore appassionato di tutte le cose esoteriche, e, recentemente, aveva preso la raccolta di informazioni pertinenti e talvolta non è così pertinente dietro il mistero di Rennes-le-Château e il suo più famoso prete François Bérenger Saunière. Quello che era iniziato come un fringuello era diventata una passione e lo aiutò a rilassarsi dalle richieste incessanti del suo lavoro di alto profilo. C'erano centinaia di e-mail in attesa, ma l'uno con l'oggetto "Saunière" ha ottenuto la sua attenzione immediata. Prendendo il primo sorso di tè che aveva imparato ad amare in quanto si spostano a Londra undici anni fa da Minneapolis, egli guardava le parole nella sua e-mail.

From: Hannah
A: Terrance Demmings
Sent: 20 ottobre 2007
Oggetto: Saunière

Ciao Terence,
Perché non cercate le reincarnazioni di alcune delle persone che vi interessa? Bérenger Saunière e Emma Calvé (solo due esempi) sono probabilmente vivo e sta bene da qualche parte su questo pianeta, ma naturalmente con diversi nomi, ecc Se hanno proseguito in un cammino di illuminazione spirituale che può essere in grado di aiutarvi nella vostra ricerca.

Hannah

Interessante, pensò. Terrance creduto non c'è mai stato nulla da perdere nel rispondere alle molte e-mail ha ricevuto a riguardo del mistero. Poteva sempre a piedi, se si sentiva che non stava per essere di qualsiasi conseguenza o appena ricevuto troppo strano.

From: Terrance
A: Hannah Merryman
Sent: 20 ottobre 2007
Subject: Re: Saunière

Hannah,

Ciao, spero tu stia bene. La ringrazio molto per il vostro contatto. Di portare un argomento molto interessante e l'approccio. Credo che lei ha ragione, ma come si fa a trovare loro e / o contattando la loro essenza? Molte grazie per il vostro input.

Terrance

Vi, che dovrebbe fare, pensò. Diretto, fino al punto, non scherzare. Allora, cosa hai da dire a questo? Ha colpito il tasto Invia e sorpreso lui stesso a sentire una leggera anticipazione. Strano, pensò, perché dovrei importa se ha risposto o no? "Devo essere troppo stanco", ha parlato ad alta voce. Terrance messo giù il tè e recuperate la valigetta. Che è stata tutta l'eccitazione che sarebbe stato di questa sera.

Un po 'stordito, ma contento di aver finito la relazione, la notte prima, Terrance acceso il computer. Avrebbe potuto trascorrere Domenica comunque ha scelto e che stava per invitare un amico a pranzo per parlare del suo nuovo libro che sarà pubblicato nel mese di aprile. Segreti di Girona è stata una nuova svolta sul mistero che Saunière Terrance trovato affascinante, e ha solo bisogno di qualche altra domanda ha risposto per ottenere il suo solida comprensione. Alzando la cornetta del telefono guardò lo schermo del computer e vide la sua email. E 'venuto nel mezzo della notte.

From: Hannah
A: Terrance Demmings
Inviato: 21 Ottobre 2007
Subject: Re: Saunière

Terrance,

Grazie per la vostra risposta. Credo che la risposta alla tua domanda è a volte si trovano. Ero Emma Calvé.
Hannah

"Emma"....the book

2009-12-19T07:27:00.000-08:00

Hi all, I am very honoured to have been asked by Andy Gough to post three chapters of the book I am writing on his Arcadia site. Here is the link for all to enjoy. Wishing everyone a Joyous holiday season...........Merry Christmas! Lori :-)
http://andrewgough.co.uk/emma.html

Chapter Three: "Under a Ruby Moon"

2009-11-08T09:08:00.000-08:00

Berenger and Emma had eventually become good friends. The feelings they shared, although contained, had not gone away. He had become her protector, her advisor, the keeper of her secret, her best friend. He loved her and he believed she loved him too, and that was enough for him. He had come to accept that these roles were of more importance than that of lovers. He would sacrifice that relationship for the intimacy of this one. No one else would ever have this place in her life. It was his and his alone. Sauniere had pleaded with her, although it broke his heart, that their careers were too important to jeopardize, especially the opportunity that lay in front her. She had a gift that needed to be shared with the world and he could not interfere with that. They had come to an agreement that hot August afternoon, but only after they made love one last time. It would surely ruin them both if they did not come to terms with their feelings. She had tried in earnest to persuade him to leave with her, and although that is all he wanted to do, he had to stay. He would stay near Quillan to watch over their reason for living.
It wasn’t always easy being Emma Calvé thought Berenger as he sipped his glass of wine and waited for her to join him in the Tour Magdala. Emma and Berenger were going to spend the afternoon together picnicking a few miles from the church. They would be alone and although this held its challenges, Berenger was looking forward to having her all to himself. Today was going to be a good day for him.
The life of a star had its wonderful highs, and as they both knew its dangerous lows. Emma had arrived unexpectedly at his presbytery door three days earlier announcing she would be spending the next week. “Francois darling”, she smiled, “I need to be here with you.” She had kissed him on both cheeks, and headed straight for the villa. Berenger knew the drill. It would be necessary to schedule a couple of receptions to help curb the inevitable gossip that would follow her departure. Always careful in his choice of guests, Berenger invited all local dignitaries as well as the Bishop in the hope that her stay would be seen as a special event for them as opposed to a visit for him.
She had arrived bearing gifts, a new dress and hat for Marie, tickets to the opera in Paris for the Mayor and his wife, a souvenir from her travels abroad for Alfred, and of course, another rare book for Berenger. Her generosity and exuberant nature won the hearts and loyalty of most residents of Rennes -le - Chateau and the surrounding villages. She cared for these people and was perpetually planning the next improvement for the village or donating money to a local cause or family in need. Berenger and Emma could never stop meandering back to their peasant roots, always aware of the needs of the poor. She would provide the cash and Berenger the labour for this home away from home.
The demons that had haunted them over the past eleven years would sometimes scurry away into the corners of this hilltop sanctuary, only to reappear in the streets of Quillan a short time later. The secret they carried had proved to be heavier for Emma than for Berenger. The cause that had brought them together was still strong upon him and he worked daily towards its completion. Emma’s sporadic visits were becoming less often and he feared she was becoming too involved in the esoteric circles in Paris. Rumours were circulating that the occultist Jules Bois was enamoured with her. This handsome and intelligent man was the first of her potential lovers that he truly feared. Berenger knew that he was a constant reminder of the pain that she carried. Jules would be her medication. Emma loved power, and both of these men held their power well. Jules Bois was several years younger than Emma, a writer of some worth he supposed, and had become a bit of a celebrity through the duels he had engaged in with Stanislav de Guaita and Gerard Encausse better known as Papus. He knew Emma would have found this dangerous tradition a highly romantic and erotic exercise. The most obvious challenge was Jules Bois was available and he was not. The picnic and a visit to Quillan was his last hope to dissuade Emma from entering not only Jules Bois' bed, but a far more dangerous world than Emma could possibly understand. She would certainly be used for her wealth and fame in spite of her belief that she carried more weight in the world. His last hope was this visit. He would coax her to go to Quillan this afternoon to help remind her of the strongest reason to stay away from Jules Bois............ her daughter.

I'm Back. :-)

2009-10-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

After a very busy summer and the recent postponement of the Digging for the Truth Conference to August 2010 I have finally found some time for this blog. Today I would like to share a chapter of the book I am writing which of course is about one of my favourite gals Emma Calvé. I hope you enjoy.
Best Wishes, Lori

She had no intention of coming to Francois’ funeral, but they had insisted. Emma had been able to live her life in quiet disregard of the past for many years, always careful never to move too far away from the circle of mentors who had helped shape her early spiritual views and career. They were all here today though, to pay their final respect to this man whom many in this tiny village in the south of France still considered their priest. The society which they all belonged to had continued to survive without her presence and would continue to survive without his.
The order was assembling on the stone walkway now, having placed Francois on a chair near the wall. He looked surreal wearing the traditional garb of the high priest. The burgundy tassels on the hem of the cloak swayed in the wind while they waited for the final words of the Master. She had been told that they would be allowed to take one of the tassels to use as a talisman for future ceremony and to commemorate Francois sacredness of purpose. She would take one as remembrance of the afternoon they shared that had tore at her soul for years. He was her first love, the hard love, the forbidden love.
She was alone within this order now. Her unwillingness to participate in the rituals and ceremonies of the society had ostracized her from this powerful group. She believed it was her fame and silence that had kept her safe from reprisals, but everyone on that walkway understood differently. It was at the insistence of their high priest Francoise Berenger Sauniere that her status within the society would be honoured, and nothing else.
Her sadness was debilitating. She hadn’t eaten very much in the past three days. Emma was surprised at the strength of emotions this man could still call from within her. She had believed that she was over him all these years, but the pain in her heart said otherwise, as did her now ex-husband Galileo Gaspari.
Emma was uncomfortable to think that the others who had gathered for this final farewell could feel her distress. She knew she was a better actress than this but her body and mind were not responding to her attempts at light heartedness.These people did not frighten her anymore. As she aged, and her fame grew around the world, she knew it was not in the groups’ best interest to cause her harm. She had made many powerful allies around the world including Queen Victoria and the Czar and Czarina of Russia. All because of a voice, she thought, notes sung in one hall for one moment had made her life what it was today. She was rich beyond her wildest dreams and wielded influence in circles others fought to belong to. She had decided to stay on at her house in Quillan for a few days to get her bearings before returning to Paris. She would revisit the places that had made her smile all those years ago and try to put to rest or at least come to terms with Sauniere and her feelings for him.
Emma found her way to her favourite stone seat on the walkway, a small corner to the right leading to the library. She had spent many days and evenings sitting and peering over the edge of the walls of this stone thoroughfare. Today, the magnificent valley below was blanketed in the whitest of snow. The light playful breeze lifted and swirled its brightness over the valley floor. As usual, she would not partake in the ceremony for Francois today. Although she had not lost faith in the sacredness of such matters, she had lost her respect for many of the people involved in the society.
The weather was bitter, but Emma was not cold, her floor length fur coat and numbing grief saw to that. She sat and watched the ritual of farewell performed on her favourite soul, and as she did, Emma drifted and swirled herself, back to a time when the sacred union of male and female was practiced, back to a time when Francois was her voice of reason.

International Conference

2009-05-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
I'm pleased to announce the "Digging for the Truth" Conference that I am organizing with a fabulous communications company called "Firedog" here in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Here is the Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=91978998160&ref=nf
The website www.digging4thetruth.com will be up and running Wednesday, May 27, 2009. This international conference is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Come on.......take a trip to Canada. We'll make it worth your while. Lori:-)

Portrait by Henri Cain

2009-04-25T16:04:00.001-07:00

This portrait was painted by artist Henri Cain. Some people believe Henri was Emma's love of her life. More to come on this subject.

Édition du lundi 13 avril 2009

DR
MuséeHistoire d'un pastel d'Emma-Calvé, ce jeudi
LIRE AUSSI
RUTHÈNES EN SCÈNE Arts en scène
Peintre et prédicateur
RAPPEL
Dernier rendez-vous jeudi avec le cycle de conférences "Une heure, une oeuvre" Jeudi 16 avril à 18 h 15, la Sodam (Société des amis des musées) propose, au musée Denys-Puech une conférence de François Leyge, conservateur en chef du musée de Millau et elle portera sur un portrait au pastel de la célèbre cantatrice aveyronnaise Emma Calvé.
L'oeuvre du jour : il s'agit d'un portrait d'Emma Calvé, par Henri Cain, pastel sur toile situé vers 1890 et donné au musée par Henri Cain lui-même. L'artiste : Henri Cain (né en 1856, mort en 1930 ou 1937). Peintre, graveur et auteur dramatique issu d'une famille d'artistes, il fut élève de Jean-Paul Laurens. Son père, ancien élève de Rude, fut sculpteur animalier. Son frère Georges fut également connu comme "le peintre des coquetteries féminines et du pittoresque d'autrefois." Conférencier, littérateur très cultivé, il obtint beaucoup de succès à Paris. Les deux frères abandonnèrent progressivement la peinture pour écrire des livrets d'opéra. Il écrivit notamment les textes de la Navarraise, l'opéra de Jules Massenet avec le librettiste Jules Claretie, dont le rôle titre (Anita) fut créé pour la chanteuse Emma Calvé et joué pour la première fois en 1894 à Covent Garden (Londres).
Henri Cain dessine ici la célèbre cantatrice aveyronnaise (1858-1942), l'une des plus grandes interprètes de Carmen, au sommet de sa jeunesse et de sa beauté.
L'oeuvre n'est pas datée mais a sans doute été réalisée vers 1890. Une histoire d'amour lia le peintre à son modèle pendant une dizaine d'années.

Article on Emma Calvé from "The Home Monthly".

2009-04-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

Thought everyone might find this interesting. This article is from "The Home Monthly" magazine.:)

From The Home Monthly, 6 (June 1897): 13-14.
Emma Calve.

OF Calvé's art it is quite impossible to speak briefly. The combination of a magnificent vocalist and an interpretative actress is so rare that it cannot be treated lightly or in a paragraph. But half of Emma Calvé's astonishing popularity is due neither to her voice nor to her art, wonderful as they are, but to a third element which, for lack of a better term, one must call her individuality—her personality. You see her as Carmen in her night-black hair; as Ophelia in ample golden locks; you see her as Santuzza in the head-dress of an Italian peasant, as Marguerite in the bodice of a German maiden. In every particular these creations differ absolutely, as only a great artist can differentiate; but the charm, the delight is always the same, for that quality is the personal quality—Calvé herself.

Public curiosity is continually fixed upon "home life" of artists. Now, Calvé's home is her dressing-room. She has a castle in the Cévennes, a house in Paris, an estate in Italy, but her dressing-room is her home. Or, to put it the other way, all her homes to her are dressing-rooms, and all the world's a stage and it is nothing else. She is always and every moment an actress and Calvé is the most wonderful role she plays. All her parts are tinctured with that one role "as the wine must taste of its own grapes."

If you have seen Calvé in concert, then you have seen her as she is. Were you to meet her in her own drawing-room once a week you would know her no better; you would find her quite as impetuous, as naively vain, as inexplicable and as much a creature of another world. She is by turns the most energetic and the most indolent of women. She never hurries; it is a physical impossibility with her. She is always late and is the despair of managers and rehearsals. She insists upon having two hours to dress before every performance, whereas other singers need only an hour at most. When she has a matinee performance, she goes to the theatre as soon as she gets up. She will never dress without two maids to assist her, and her companion, who reads aloud to her from the latest novel of Paul Bourget or M. Anatole France while she is being "made up." Occasionally Mademoiselle, la prima donna, breaks forth with a few bars from one of her arias and drowns not only the dainty phrases of M. France, but the noise of the scene shifting as well. Calvé has theories about heat drying up the lungs and ruining the voice, and she abominates American methods of heating. She is utterly impervious to cold, and in the dead of winter has the heat turned off in her dressing-room and keeps all the doors and windows wide open. Her maids, poor things! who have neither the Calvé temperament nor the fire of genius burning within them, are always wretchedly cold. She is genuinely sorry for them and kisses them quite affectionately, but they have tonsilitis just the same.
By her fellow artists Calvé is sincerely admired and feared, but few of them lead a placid existence near her. At the time of her notorious quarrel with Eames several seasons since, when the two singers were called before the curtain she simply would not take Eames' hand in the customary manner, but would toss her head and pout like a naughty child. Last winter in New York she sang at a benefit for the French Children's Hospital with M. Plançon, who had always been one of her most devoted admirers. As they strolled upon the stage a few moments before the performance began, Plançon noticed that the stage was quite filled with flowers that had been sent Calvé, and innocently remarked that their odor overpowered him and that he could not sing with so many flowers on the stage. The fair prima donna turning in fury upon the astonished basso informed him that if the flowers had been for him they would not trouble him, that she could endure his petty jealousy no longer and that she would not sing. Five minutes later she was discovered in the street, hatless and cloakless, in her low cut gown, shouting for a cab.
In spite of her little tempers, Mademoiselle is really one of the best hearted women in the world. She is always helping a young singer or two somewhere in her own country and she is passionately fond of children. In her case that much misused adverb is used advisedly, for it is quite impossible for her to be moderately fond. It seems that while she was at school at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, she promised some saint or other that if she ever became a singer she would do great things for God's poor. She believes implictly that her success came directly through divine agency and she has never forgotten her promise. On her great estate up in the Cévennes she has built an orphanage where she supports and educates forty little girls picked up from the slums of Paris. She has a warm feeling, too, for the ruddy-cheeked lads of her country and employs on her farm almost a hundred of them who find her a most delightful mistress. In the summer-time she always manages to get away to her mountain estate and become a farmer. She feeds her chickens, and rides a donkey, and milks her cows and entirely doffs the grand duchesse and becomes openly for the moment the sturdy peasant which she always will be at heart. She declares that when her voice fails her she will set up a chicken farm: that is really one of her cherished dreams. She loves to hunt eggs and save them, just as the old women of her mountains do. So much for the instincts of blood. "Ah," she once wrote to a friend, "Ah my sweet chickens! Surelytheir's is a disinterested affection. Were I old and ugly and without a note in my throat they would still love me." Alas, Mademoiselle! but cease to feed your feathered devotees for awhile, and you will soon cry out that there is no faith left in chickens.
Calvé remembers old friends, even the little song, "The Star that I Love" in which she made her first success. She has scores of friends and manages to find time for them all. Whatever may be said of her, she is not a snob. She is often at home to a child when she is not to a duchess, and she visits the Children's Hospital in Paris more regularly than she does any of the drawing-rooms that are always open to her. Ellen Terry is one of her warmest friends, and the walls of Mademoiselle's house in Paris are quite covered with photographs of the English tragedienne. One of them bears this neat inscription, "One lesson in English I will give you—'I love you'—that is all. Ellen Terry." Most of Calvé's lessons in English have been to that effect.June 1897

Performing for the Red Sultan

2009-04-12T07:25:00.000-07:00

Emma was asked by Nazim Pasha while performing at the home of the French Ambassador in Constantinople if she would be interested in performing for the Red Sultan, full name Abdulhamid ll of Turkey ( reign 1876 - 1909). I believe this may have been after her Russian performance of 1895. She was thirty-seven at that time. In Emma's book "MY LIfe", she goes into detail about this performance and the man whom she sang and danced for.
The Red Sultan was born September 21/22, 1842 and died February 10, 1918. He was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He was the last Ottoman sultan to rule with absolute power.
This was not a nice man! His reputation is well documented and some of this man's history can be viewed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Hamid_II.
Although Emma was willing to perform for the sultan she admits to being frightened to some degree. She says in her book " I felt an undeniable thrill of terror at the idea of coming into contact with the "Red Sultan" whose word made Islam tremble, and whose evil reputation had spread to every corner of the globe. The moment I crossed the threshold of the gorgeous palace of Yildiz, it seemed to me that the sun was swallowed up, and all the radiance and glory that flooded the Bosphorus had disappeared!" She was asked to bring "the music of Carmen, the comb, the fan, mantilla, and, most particularly the castanets for the dance." She first sang for the harem before the sultan arrived. When he made his appearance all bowed to him. After singing many songs for him, the sultan remained unmoved. Emma was urged to begin her performance of Carmen. She goes on in her book " The sultan roused himself when I began, and seemed to take some little pleasure in my dancing. Suddenly his eyes gleamed strangely as he watched me." She became a little frightened at that moment that she may have pleased him too much and could be looking at being part of the harem she found herself dancing in. Continuing her dance she moves closer and closer to where he is sitting. Emma writes " All at once, an expression of terror crossed his face. He rose from his chair precipitately, and disappeared! I never saw him again!"
Emma was presented with a gold chalice for her efforts and one of the Sultanas expressed to her the Sultans admiration for her beautiful dance.
Just another day in the life of Emma Calvé. I'm sure she had some great stories to tell to her friends and family from that adventure. I am intrigued by the gold chalice reference. This is not the first time a gold chalice or gold cup has been mentioned when referring to our girl Emma. Patrice Chaplin also mentions in her book that the demon priest she has a vision of at the church of Rennes - le- Chateau speaks the words" only from a gold cup". Patrice sees that behind the demon priest is the chocolate advertisement that Emma appears on. Coincidence maybe..........maybe not.

Speaking of Dr. Gerard Encausse (Papus)

2009-03-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

This is an excerpt from a book written by Papus referring to his thoughts on reincarnation. I agree. It is titled "Reincarnation and Religion".

We will conclude our study of reincarnation here. For the completion of our work we need only include some notes referring to traditions.

We have seen in the preceding chapters that reincarnation was among the secret teachings in all of the temples of antiquity. Presented originally as a part of the initiation into the great mysteries of ancient Egypt, this revelation has now passed to all mystical religions. We find it repeatedly among the classic authors, of whom we have given numerous examples, and we find it repeatedly in Buddhism.

The relatively modern study of writings from India has altered ideas about the fabulous antiquity of the Indian alphabet. The works of Philippe Berger and other sages, who only go back to about 500 years before Jesus Christ, that being the time of the Buddha. According to the Academy of Grammarians the Sanskrit alphabet, that is to say the alphabet of Thebah, was in use during the time of Gautama the Buddha, a Brahman initiate who left his father's palace -- the center of initiation -- to offer part of the mysteries to the profane world.

We should not imagine, however that the Buddhist religion is the creator of this idea of reincarnation. Rather Buddha, at considerable sacrifice in service to humanity, was the one to reveal this to the common people.

People interested in these matters will find in a volume by M.de Lafont titled Buddhism, precise texts and teachings, which will satisfy their interest fully.

Has reincarnation been a part of the Christian religion at some time? One can frankly respond in the affirmative to this.

Significantly the gospels tell us in plain language that Saint John the Baptist was the reincarnated Elias. This was a mystery and Saint John the Baptist, when questioned, kept quiet but others knew the truth of it.

The parable of a man blind from birth is another example. The suggestion that he was being punished for previous sins presents an interesting matter for reflection.

The Christian religion is a direct continuation of the Egyptian, and each one of the evangelists is represented by a symbol that is one in the four of the sphinx: the human head, or the angel, an eagle, a lion and a bull.

The idea of reincarnation was contained in the secret teachings of the Church, as were many of the initiatory concepts of Egypt.

It has been said that the Church condemned reincarnation; this is false. A council has said though, that those believed to have returned to earth were not accepted into heaven; but far from condemning reincarnation this warning of the Council indicates the contrary. It was also part of the teachings that if someone returned voluntarily through reincarnation, not because heaven was displeased with him or her, but for love of their neighbor, the curse would not apply to them (Rozier).

Lastly, according to the teachings of the Roman Catholic church, who have kept much less of the occult tradition than the Russian orthodox church, a considerable span of time lapses between the judgment at the end of life and the final judgment. It is at that final judgment, according to Catholicism, that the soul is assigned its final destination. Until this moment the spirit can change, during this time between the two trials. And how does the spirit function during this time lapse between the two trials? You can appreciate that heaven, hell and purgatory are experiential states that can be lived in material form. This is what Swedenborg taught and Mohammed also, even though he had an aversion to all forms of traditional esotericism. Yet he indicates that he was aware of these things when saying in his chapter "The women of the Koran" that Christ would return at the end of time to judge between the living and the dead.

It is certain that the idea of reincarnation that was an illuminating lighthouse in antiquity has not been lost by any religion. In modern times this idea has reappeared and is supported by three traditions: the cabalist tradition brought out of Egypt and passed along to us by the Pythagoreans and the Neopatonists; the Asian tradition passed along to us by the Buddhists of which we have just spoken, and lastly the modern revival of Spiritualism.

Rivail, well known by the alias of Allan Kardec, has rendered western humanity a great service by popularizing the dogma of reincarnation. If this idea troubles certain weak minds, consider in other times, say around the year 100, the impact of the idea of hell. The idea has prevented so many suicides and given so much hope that it would be appropriate to congratulate the creator of contemporary spiritism as well as its successors, such as Gabriel Delanne, León Denís and Leymarie, to have spread among the masses such a beautiful instrument of hope.

Child prodigies are easily explained by the idea of reincarnation, as are the experiences of people who find a curious familiarity in certain places and lands. Without becoming dogmatic we can appreciate the clarity that the doctrine of reincarnation provides in understanding a number of personal and social issues. It is not our intention here to present an extensive historical or bibliographical exploration. Our main purpose is rather to awaken the sleeping god within our readers, causing the god of memory in the heart to speak, creating in each of our readers the inner enthusiasm that will prompt this deity to reveal the true mysteries.

Then every man may begin to understand the earthly economy, its nature as a natural necessity and that as Barlet and Lejay have said, the social order is merely a tool and not an end purpose. Our higher abilities deserve to be devoted to finer things than the earthly ideals of acquiring material wealth and gratification of ones pride. To follow Christ it is necessary to abandon everything without regret, as one abandons an old garment in order to clothe themselves in garments of an initiate's light. To understand earthly life as something more than a comedy in which we play our particular part as characters during our brief existence, it is necessary to partake of the mysteries of the Father. It is necessary to willingly sacrifice all that is not eternal. When we know the mysteries of reincarnation we are able to join Saint Paul in saying, "Oh death, where is thy terror? Oh grave, where thy sting?"

Doctor Rozier in fact says: "I wish only to prove that the Catholics are entitled to believe what seems most rational to them in this manner: the generally held opinion among them is that one lives only once on the earth, but no real prohibition exists to believing otherwise. An opinion, and in point of fact that is what it is for those who hold it, is always subject to revision. Certainly, if we are enamored of a theory that contradicts that held by men of considerable learning and honor, the Fathers of the Church for example, we should be restrained by demanding arguments of substance if we continue to profess this, but we should not surrender to these arguments by virtue of their considerable force without looking at the matter and considering it from both sides."
The old Christian reincarnationists did not propose that mortal life on earth is the result of a diminishing of God's grace, or one's losing their love of God but quite to the contrary, that earthly life is imposed to evolve us and make us the masters of the material world to which, by the fall of Adam, we became slaves.

This earthly existence would not mature without difficulties if it were prolonged much beyond a hundred years for reasons that it is pointless to address here, but a hundred years is insufficient to obtain a definitive victory. It has therefore been necessary to grant us a longer span of time, and that segmented by intervals similar to the intervals between the dreams of deep sleep and daydreams. Each type of dream may be called a death. Certainly each existence is accompanied by forgetfulness of those that have preceded it, but this forgetfulness is providential. It facilitates evolution because with complete memory it would be difficult to change on this plane of existence. When we have finally awakened a sufficient number of times to achieve the purpose of our efforts, the sanctification, we die one final time and return no more. It is then that we are judged finally and relegated to our place in heaven or purgatory. If, on the contrary, in each existence we descend lower and lower until we reach a point at which no hope of salvation exists any longer, we will die one last time and go to hell, but this is a most unusual occurrence.

Considered this way the theory of reincarnation, as presented by the old Christian reencarnationists, can be accepted or rejected by the Catholics but does not fall under the curse as previously mentioned. However, if the theory is rejected no breach should be opened by presenting exceptions.

Emma Calvé and the Castillon Diary

2009-03-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

I have recently been asked to comment on whether or not I believe that the diary that Mary Alice Bennett has been promoting, especially concerning the aspect of Emma Calvé taking a road trip with this fellow called Castillon to visit Berenger Sauniere at his home and parish at Rennes le Chateau. Let me first say that I do not believe that this is a true account but a wonderful work of fiction on the part of Mary Alice and her friend "Sam" who to this date has not been identified.
Mary Alice has stated on the U.F.O. digest site that she suspects that Castillon is none other that Gerard Encausse aka "Papus". This trip supposedly takes place May 18-22,1900. I have been able to gather some timelines and information for Sauniere, Calvé and Papus as follows. According to Laurent Buchholtzer, also known as "Octonovo" Sauniere travelled :
August 1900-Two trips to undisclosed locations
October 1900-Two trips to Carcassonne, one for a retreat
This information was provided on Corjan de Raaf's RLC website. Although Laurent admits that the list on this travel log is not complete, is does include Saunieres travels from 1896 right til 1915.
I was also able to ascertain through the Perillos website that on May 11, 1900 Sauniere had travelled to Lyons, the second largest city in France at the time. The register for the Martinist lodge has Sauniere signed in for May 11,1900 as a Honourable Guest. The site also suggests that Sauniere was in Lyons for a total of three visits and they have a invoice for a car rental on the site that ,as far as I can tell, has the date May 21 on it. This would mean that Sauniere was not in Rome with the Pope. The timeline so far has Sauniere taking seven trips during that month( although the two undisclosed trips noted by Laurent may have been to Lyons), a eighth trip to Rome seems a little much and according to the car rental invoice impossible.
My research says that in May 1900 Emma Calvé was in Rome. Also in 1900 she was preparing for a trip to Egypt,Turkey and Greece with Jules Bois( who was at this time her lover), Swami Vivekananda and Mr. Loyson ( Father Hyacinthe) and his wife.(They did take this trip in October 1900)
Also........ if this is the journal of Papus, I could hardly imagine that Emma would be joy riding unchaperoned with her lovers known enemy. Jules and Papus had a duel around 1891. It is said that Bois and Papus did become friends later on, but when this may have happened is unknown to me, and quite frankly friend or not.......I would think that Emma would be a little more cautious as to not being in the company of Papus due to this fact. It has also been suggested that Papus may have had a intimate relationship with Emma before her relationship with Jules and if this is true, why would Emma take up with Papus again. The diary alludes to Castillon being sexually attracted to Emma, and if he were Papus, would he not be talking about their past relationship here. Come on people, it's his diary,why would he not be talking about this lost love. Castillon (aka Papus)writes in the diary "It was however purely a brief marriage de convenance and I observed all the gentlemanly proprieties as was expected of me so that it was never consummated. That would have been too much to hope for. "
This diary also suggests that Sauniere and Emma Calvé were good friends, hence the stopping by Sauniere's home unannounced as good friends are allowed to do. ( to date it has not been proven that they knew eachother but I personally believe they did know each other)I would think that a good friend having an audience with the Pope would be exciting news to share with close friends ( the diary states that Marie Denaraud thought he would come back a Cardinal), yet, Emma ,his good friend knew nothing of this. I could go on, but I won't. It gets a little tiresome to hear other peoples versions of what they would like a story to be, or could be ,as opposed to what it really is.When trying to separate truth from fiction I believe we must use "Occam's Razor". This rule is interpreted to mean that the simplest of two or more competing theories is preferable and that an explanation for unknown phenomena should first be attempted in terms of what is already known.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T16:35:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to one and all. I am fortunate to be able to take several days off in a row to have a bit of a rest and get caught up on many of the things I became involved in in the last year including this blog spot. I have had a wonderful year and am looking forward to everything that 2009 will bring. As many know, I have been researching my friend Emma Calvé for several years and I have had the good fortune to meet some pretty amazing people through this journey. I have read a ton of books, all very intriguing, full of insight and imagination. Some of favourite authors this past year have been Ralph Ellis, Shannon Dorey, Andre Douzet, Filip Coppens,Patrice Chaplin and last but not least Andy Gough. I am really pleased to say that I have been motivated to put on a conference here in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada this October called "Digging for the Truth". It is my belief that we are all diggers and I wish to organize this event ( with the help of a great conference organizer "Firedog Communications") to help these diggers present their work to our small part of the world. I am always taken aback when these well researched books are ignored by the public at large and I feel it is not just my responsibility but the responsibility of all truth seekers to encourage and support these brave souls who have the courage to speak their truth in front of the whole world. My hats off to all of you. As I have said before, it is no easy task putting pen to paper and coming up with words,paragraphs and eventually books. So........I will keep everyone posted on this exciting event. May all your dreams come true for you in 2009. Lori:)

Queen Victoria, Emma's Friend

2008-11-26T08:27:00.000-08:00

Emma Calvé and Queen Victoria were friends. Emma sang every season at Covent Gardens in London and would be invited to court. In Chapter eleven of "My Life" Emma speaks very fondly of Queen Victoria. " She was impressive, dominating, a real presence, in spite of her short stature and plain exterior." Emma claims and goes on to say that the Queen used to call her a child of nature because of Emma's inability to remember the rules of etiquette. Emma recounts how it was through these performances at Windsor Castle that she met many interesting personalities including the Czar and Czarina of Russia, the King of Bavaria, the King of Sweden and Greece and the Empress Eugenie.

Emma also recalls in her book that she was accidently locked in her room before her first performance at the castle. There had been a death of one of the staff and she had been forgotten. They only noticed Emma missing when she did not show up on stage for her performance. Emma also performed at Balmoral. The Queen's fondness for Emma Calvé is still on display in the Victoria Room at Windsor Castle. The Queen had a bust of Emma sculpted by the Countess Théodora de Gleiken with Emma assuming the role of Santuzza in "Cavalleria Rusticana".

Emma friends with Jean Richepin

2008-11-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

Emma was known to be a good friend of Jean Richepin. Jean (1849-1926) was a french poet, novelist and dramatist. I have not been able to get much information to date about how close their friendship was but will keep digging. I have been able to find some great info on Jean though, through a fabulous website www.jeanrichepin.free.fr. It is said that no woman could resist Mr. Richepin, who was of a bohemian nature. Eric Mie, a wonderful French artist in his own right, is a great fan of Richepin, and I believe the author of the Richepin website I have recommended.

It doesn't surprise me that Emma would be friends of such a wonderful character as Richepin. They were both very outspoken individuals and deeply involved in the dramatic arts. It would have been a hoot to be able to sit in on one of their conversations.

I would also like to thank Eric Mie for all his work in bringing together the life of Jean and wish him great success in his career.

My favourite Richepin quote: " One may live without bread, not without roses." Now what girl wouldn't swoon over that?!

Emma & Swami Vivekananda

2008-11-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

Emma had the pleasure of meeting Swami Vivekananda during one of her U.S. tours. She seems to have been quite impressed by the Swami's abilities and remained a friend and admirer through her life. She speaks about him for several pages in her autobiography "My Life" ( pages 185-194) which is surprising as she does not give too many other people this much attention in her book. She doesn't talk about Jules Bois at all, and he is acknowledged in many circles as being very close to Emma for a considerable length of time. Vivekananda also refers to her in his writings. There is a great website that carries the writings of Vivekananda.(www.vivekananda.net) It is well known that Emma was very generous with her money and in this manner of generosity invites Vivekananda as her guest on a trip to Egypt, Turkey and Greece. They are accompanied by Jules Bois, Miss McLeod, Father Hyacinthe ( Mr. Loyson) and his wife. Father Hyacinthe left the priesthood to marry and there is a story that Emma and his new wife got into an argument over this fact. It seems Mrs. Loyson made a comment about Emma sleeping with Jules Bois out of wedlock with Emma replying that at least she had not stolen a beloved priest from his people!

My Life (1922)

2008-10-19T12:14:00.000-07:00

I just spent Friday and Saturday rereading Emma's book "My Life" 1922. It never ceases to amaze me when rereading some book or article all the information I have missed initially. I have to admit I enjoyed it much more this time around. I remember feeling for her a bit the first time I read her autobiography. Her writing skills left a lot to be desired as far as I was concerned. This time round I was less harsh and much more aware of the reality of her skills. To find the time to even write the book should be enough to impress, and I must admit, having tried my hand at writing this past summer, I have acquired an empathy and a deep respect for anyone who attempts to put pen to paper. It is not easy!

I am putting a timeline together to be able to decipher when Emma was in many of the places she speaks about. I am interested in her year long recovery from a terrible incident in her life and also the week she spent in Italy waiting for a letter to arrive that contained information that could end hope in an area of her private life. Emma stays away from anything that may allude to her personal life, she never mentions Jules Bois, even when she speaks about the trip with Swami Vivikananda to Turkey and Egypt, where Jules is known to have travelled with them. Emma does give enough information, I hope, to be able to piece together some idea of her personal life. I am confused by her not acknowledging knowing the Czar and Czarina of Russia. She doesn't even admit to meeting them. She says she had been summoned to the palace to sing but was placed behind a screen separating herself from her audience. I have to believe that she may not have known them. She does not have a problem telling us about her relationships with other famous or Royal people, why would this one not be added if she had known them on a more personal level. Also....... something very interesting is she admits in the book that her spiritual life was the most important aspect of her life, but she never offers any idea of the foundation of her spiritual beliefs. There is a reference to her putting a crucifix in the hand of a deceased operatic friend when he passed away on stage during a performance,and there is a cross over one of the beds in the Chateau de Cabrieres ( her home). She also lets us know she considered Vivekananda a spiritual advisor, one of two great souls that she had encountered. She leaves us wondering who may have been the other.( she does say one or two)

All in all this woman is a powerhouse. Raising $100,000 at a fundraiser in New York to help in the war and she has also been given credit for helping to convince the US to enter the war to help free France.

My favourite photo of Emma.

2008-10-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

I love this photo. A cropped photo of Emma which may be of her laying on the grass near her Chateau de Cabrieres or a studio shot. Her beauty is undeniable, her heart shaped face full of sorrow at this moment in time. One can't help but wonder what she could have been so unhappy about. Unless you were in Emma's skin one can only speculate on such matters. Her mascara runs down her cheeks as she peers into the lens of the camera. I'm wondering who she would have trusted enough to allow to take her picture at such a vulnerable time.( see photo on this blog on right hand side of blog page) On November 2, I discovered this picture( shown above) and of Emma with no mascara running down her cheek. Although this is still my favourite photo of her, it has obviously been cropped and toyed with to suggest things that may not have been so. It is a good lesson in understanding that not everything you see or read on the internet is fact. We must be very careful to dig deep when looking for truth and have several confirmations from various sources to back up our stories. So I have left the original and the tampered photographs for you to see. I'll be more careful next time.

Emma's Schedule

2008-10-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

When visiting Rennes le Chateau last spring I paid my six(?) euros and was admitted to the mini museum of the church. There was a wonderful collection of church relics, wax figures of Berenger himself and his faithful servant Marie Denaraud, and a collection of personal articles that had belonged to Francoise Berenger Sauniere. What was surprising to me were copies of Emma Calvé's touring schedules and a photo of her in costume as a nun. As I have said earlier there is no proof to date that these two wonderful characters ever met, and one has to wonder if these items ever belonged to Berenger or if they had been added to this collection as an after thought or were intended to provoke thought. Either way, I took some photos and have added them to this blog. There have been several attempts at linking Emma and Berenger including the infamous heart in cement with the inscription E. Calvet 1891 found at the lovers font in Rennes le Bains. It has since been chipped out of the stone that it had been poured into and remains another mystery in the story of Berenger Sauniere.

Background Information on Emma Calvé

2008-10-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best summaries I have read on the internet about Emma Calvé. It is from the Fédération du Patrimoine website. Enjoy!

On the occasion of the 50th death anniversary of the singer Emma Calvé, whose family lived in Bourg-la-Reine, we wished to share with our readers our admiration for this star of the grande époque. Rosa Emma Calvé, born on August 15, 1858 at Decazeville had a scintillating career as a singer in the 1900s, when the opera had reached its zenith. Formerly a salesgirl for gloves, at Millau, she could neither read music nor play the piano. With hard work and a strong determination to progress in her efforts, she very quickly got rid of her accent, which was marked with sonorités rourgates*, in order to develop a voice of prima donna assoluta, which she devoted almost entirely to singing, notably in the role of Bizet's Carmen, which she was to play more than 1300 times! She became the driving force behind famous composers such as Massenet and Reynaldo Hahn. A grateful nation awarded her with the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur. As a pioneer of the impressive shows in the style of Barnum, touring the world from Paris to New York via Rome, she became the idol of public passion and won the admiration of the most famous personalities of the period. Queen Victoria considered her to be a friend and invited her to Windsor. She even had a marble bust of her effigy sculpted to adorn a vestibule in her castle.After a banquet, Grand Duke Nicholas, without the least hesitation, spread out his fur-coat in front of her, on the snow, setting the example for the dignitaries of his escort so that she could walk to her vehicle without getting her feet wet!
* intonations from the region of Rouergue.

Driven by an insatiable curiosity she studied spiritualism, Yoga, Hinduism and Buddhism. One finds her immoderate passion reflected in a baroque, medieval castle in Cabrières, which swallowed up a good part of her wealth. She is believed to have had several love-affairs; however, after a marriage to an Italian tenor, which ended in divorce, the only true love of her life was Henri Cain. This brilliant young man, who belonged to the smart set of Paris, was a writer and portrait painter who eventually married Emma's partner-singer in Massenet's Navarraise. If the name of Emma Calvé sounds familiar to some of our fellow citizens, it is because they can take pride in the fact that she who was called "the greatest diva of the Belle Epoque" was part of our local history. In fact, after the tiring tours in the United States, undertaken with the dual intention of convincing the Americans to join the war, as well as to collect funds for the Red Cross, an exhausted Emma Calvé came to Bourg-la-Reine in 1914, to take rest at her mother Léonie's place, at 2 rue Brun (formerly known as rue du Potager). In 1919, on her return from a course of treatment at Contrexeville, she stayed for a while at rue Dispan in l'Hay-les-Roses, in a convalescent home run by Dr. Gaston Maillard whose son was a pharmacist in Bourg-la-Reine. This woman of strong personality liked to think that even her dog knew how to sing! Nonetheless, she never forgot her modest beginnings; striking workers near Porte d'Orleans, who stopped a tramcar in which she was travelling, were taken by surprise when she encouragingly yelled out to them, "I too am the daughter of a worker!"

Emma Calvé died on January 6, 1942 following a hepatic illness. Two days before her death a radio journalist from the Office de radiodiffusion managed to record her last words: "It is time to leave, I have no strength left." She was buried in the cemetery of Millau, her grave marked by a simple tombstone, forgotten by all.... It was at Bourg-la-Reine that Emma Calvé faced her most tragic experience, with the dying of her nephew Elie, the son of her brother Adolphe who lived at 27 Avenue Galois. The young man died on July 2, 1929, felled by a stroke the very moment he heard that he had been awarded the prize for the best actor, by the Conservatoire de Paris, for his role as the "natural son" of Diderot. In order to prevent the body from being transferred to the morgue the doctor present certified the death to have taken place due to "serious illness".The actor was therefore transported to L'Hôpital de la Pitié. In her memoirs entitled "Sous tous les ciels, J'AI CHANTE", Emma writes: "..........Cruel Grief. Paris, July 2, 1929. My nephew, my son, my child, because I was his second mother, has just been taken away from us by a jealous God. He left home at noon, filled with hope, to compete at the Conservatory. While kissing me he said: 'You'll see, godmother, what a lovely first prize I'm going to bring you. I, too, shall be an artiste. Do not come to the hall, neither you nor mother, you will make me nervous.' Looking at his mother and sending her a flying kiss, he said, 'I take you with me in my heart.' At 3 o'clock we were informed that he was dead! He died of an embolism in the brain, the very moment his master informed him of his success. Died of emotion, died of joy! The cries, the tears of his poor parents: the mother filled with horror, the father utterly dismayed. Words cannot describe this catastrophe. Our only child, our only joy, he who was so good and so handsome, to see him never again! My voice has left with him. I feel I will henceforth never be able to sing again......."

Born in Aurillac (Cantal) on July 20, 1904, Elie - an extremely sensitive boy - was, for a while, treated by the psychiatrist Babinski. A friend of Cornelissen (Dutch revolutionary journalist who lived in Bourg-la-Reine), he wrote poems for Le Bleuet - the magazine of Lycée Lakanal. He was admitted to the Conservatory of Paris in October 1928. His master Mr. Leitner as well as the renowned artiste Mademoiselle Bartet had predicted a brilliant career for him. In the calm cemetery of Bourg-la-Reine, the tombstone of the one who shared the same fate as Molière's, is marked by the words: "Do not grieve for me, I died out of joy." His father and his mother were laid to rest close to him.
Bibliography : - Contrucci Jean, Emma CALVE, la Diva du siècle.
- Girard Georges, Emma CALVE, la cantatrice sous tous les ciels.
- Calvé Emma, Sous tous les ciels, J'AI CHANTE
- Chaplain Philippe, "Emma CALVE", Bourg-la-Reine Magazine, February 1992.
- Cussac Jean, Souvenirs d'Elie CALVE, December 1935.
Interviews : - Annie BESNIER, historian, l'Hay-les-Roses.
- Suzanne DISPAN, friend of Emma Calvé, l'Hay-les-Roses.
- Marcelle ROLLET, former Secretary to the Mayor, Bourg-la-Reine.
- Suzanne SIMONA, friend of Marguerite PUECH, mother of Elie CALVE, Bourg-la-Reine.
[Photo]

Something in Common with Patrice Chaplin

2008-10-05T08:29:00.000-07:00

There is a really good book out there called City of Secrets by Patrice Chaplin. Patrice was married to Charlie Chaplins son at one time, has a wonderful array of friends and contacts, is a talented artist as well as a talented writer. The book takes you into her life and her love for a man from Spain who is somehow involved with the legend of the grail and in some way related to Berenger Sauniere. The book connects the city of Girona, Spain with the small hilltop village of Rennes le Chateau in France, hence the reason for writing something about it on this blog. Emma Calve makes an appearance in the book in the form of a mysterious woman on a chocolate advertisement that Patrice finds herself standing in front of in an alley on the streets of Girona. This chocolate advertisement is a clue in the discovery of a secret that Patrice alludes to in an interview with Andy Gough on his website. Andy's 17 questions interviews with individuals researching Rennes le Chateau, or other topics that relate to the Rennes mystery is very enlightening and always entertaining. Andy has the ability to get people to answer questions that leaves room for reading in between the lines. Patrice lets us know in the interview that the chocolate advertisement does not make alot of sense in the book because her publishers edited out pertinent information to its importance to the story she is trying to convey. I was also intrigued with her mention of her trip to Rennes le Chateau ( page 120 of City of Secrets) where when entering the church she is faced with a vision of a demon in priests robes who scares the living hell out of her. She tells us that behind him she sees what she believes to be the chocolate advertisement, again let me repeat that Emma Calves picture is on this advertisement, and the demon priest speaks to Patrice saying the words "Only from a gold cup?".
After my visit to Rennes le Chateau last spring, I returned to Canada to a busy restaurant and catering business. I was going to be catering out at our country restaurant on a two month contract. I enjoy this gig as I am able to put my feet up a bit in my apartment on the second floor. I decided I would read the journal I had kept while on the trip and start to write a little about what I had discovered. One night I was awoke by lightening coming through the window to the apartment. This window looks out into a open loft area of our old mercantile building that the restaurant is housed in. Built in 1909 it is one of the oldest buildings in the area and is full of local history. I looked out of this window across to the window on the outside of the building. The lightning was of massive proportions, reminding me of a horror film. I looked over to the right side of the loft to see a priest hunched over something and running on the outside of the building trying to find a way in. I was terrified beyond words and I ran into the bathroom of the apartment to make sure he couldn't get in through the window in that room. At this point I realized I was probably dreaming but I was very physically active which didn't make much sense. I tried to get myself to wake up but I was stuck in this other place. The sound of the thunder crashed loudly around me as I tried desperately to get myself out of wherever I was. I finally pulled out of wherever I had been and sat up in bed. I was frightened for only a moment before something came over me and I calmly put my head back on the pillow and went right back to sleep. In the morning it amazed me that I went back to sleep after such a horrendous experience. I was terrified of this priest getting to me. Trying to piece together why I would dream such a thing I naturally thought of my visit to Rennes le Chateau.
My visit to the church at Rennes le Chateau was uneventful if you don't include the dream I had the night before. I had discovered something in the dream and had been warned by the devil that if I told this secret he would burn down my house. I was even shown my house, although still standing, the inside was totally burnt.
I enjoyed the beauty of this quiet hilltop village (we were there before the major tourist season) and was pleased to be able to have the church to ourselves for a good 20 minutes. I felt no fear, just a calm acceptance. I paid my money and lit a candle, paid respects to the forces that be and walked over to the infamous devil. Putting my hand on top of his,I smiled and wished him well remembering the words of the Buddha when he would have encounters with Mara the equivalent of our devil. The Buddha viewed Mara as a necessary part of the universe and as such grew to understand him as opposed to fearing or loathing this force. Don't get me wrong, I am not on any level close to the Buddha, nor am I fearless when it comes to the dark side. I guess in my own way I was acknowledging his challenge to me, and I knew he knew I had already told what I had dreamed. I left the church and the village of Rennes le Chateau feeling somehow that I had come full circle. I was okay with this visit. Joanne, my good friend, couldn't stop crying. She said all she felt was sadness. Off I went to climb up to the top of the Tour Magdala, it was a magnificent view.I also found time to sit on the corner stone seat of the fabulous walkway overlooking the valley and after getting my fill of that, I eventually made my way to the only rooms accessible in the Villa Bethania ( please someone fix the house). I had a hard time pulling myself away from that stone corner seat on the walkway though, I couldn't help imagining all the people that sat on that seat. It didn't only have a great view of the valley, but a great view of whomever would walk up the stairs from the garden. We ended the visit with a picnic on the grass near the top of the road leading down the mountain, then climbed into our rental car and drove back to Carcassonne.
It still haunts me, the dream in Carcassonne with the woman on the old wooden crucifix. Why the dark side does not want me to tell this story is a mystery to me.
So Patrice, I've seen the priest. As far as I'm concerned your story is not only relevant to this mystery but a substantial part of it. I wish you peace and prosperity, and loads of success with your book "City of Secrets".

Andrew Goughs Arcadia

2008-10-03T06:22:00.000-07:00

Andrew Gough has a great site on the net concerning the enigma of Rennes le Chateau and anything that may have a connection to the mystery of the priest Francoise Berenger Sauniere. It is well written and very informative especially the forum which includes various characters from around the globe expressing their opinions on this mystery. As Emma has been linked to Berenger, and may I again say that this has not been proven to date, I was interested in reading the research that had been gathered not only on Andy's site but also the Perillos website created by André Douzet and Filip Coppens. I chose these two sites as they are rational,well researched, and their authors quite serious and dedicated to their work.
Although the threads concerning Emma Calvé exist on these sites, they are more in the nature of honourable mentions as opposed to serious considerations of her involvement. When travelling to France this past May, I had the opportunity to speak with several local residents in Millau, the home of Emma Calvé for many years. The admiration they expressed for her was startling to me as she had been dead for over 50 years. They were more than happy to tell me about her monetary generosity to the villagers in troubled times, her dedication to teaching opera in her twilight years, and helped guide me to where she had lived in and around Millau. I was also made aware of Monsieur George Girard, the guardian of all things concerning Emma Calvé. The people of Millau are very aware of the controversy surrounding the supposed relationship between Emma Calvé and Berenger Sauniere and it was my impression they were not pleased with," their Emma" being represented in such a negative light. There is a great story (although it could just be a urban myth) that George Girard, known as the greatest admirer of Emma Calvé, threw a woman out of his office for even suggesting there may have been a relationship between Emma Calvé and Sauniere. I love imagining this eighty plus year old man tossing this woman out into the street, yelling french obscenities. There is great admiration for this woman in this small, beautiful village of Millau . When visiting her tomb I was fortunate to meet a woman who spoke to us about Emma. She relayed information concerning a celebration that would be happening to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Emma's birth. It would be held August 15 in Creissel. I was three months too early. She spoke about Sauniere and Emma and was under the distinct impression that she thought there may have been a relationship between Emma and Berenger, and that Emma was responsible for the financing of various projects at Rennes le Chateau. When I asked her where she thought the priest got his unexplained wealth she had replied laughing " Emma of course! " in her wonderful french accent. She then invited us for dinner that evening.

Birthday

2008-09-26T07:34:00.000-07:00

It's my birthday on Sunday and I've promised that I will be giving to myself a gift of time. A few days to pull together the research I have gathered over the last year into at least one interesting and informative article about Emma. When I travelled to France and the UK this past spring, one of the many interesting facets of Emma for me was her rather large collection of real estate. She had several homes in and around Millau and a wonderful house in London. I have reason to believe she may have had a home in Lyon and I am now looking for her home( homes) in Paris. This woman loved to collect houses and I wouldn't be surprised if she had one in New York also. Emma had a love of the castle and was fortunate enough to purchase one in Cabrieres ( Chateau de Cabrieres) just outside of Millau. One other residence in Creissels, although a rather large structure, it could not be considered a castle, but had a wonderful tower incorporated into the structure. So, I will gather more evidence of this Queen of the Castle and see where the path will lead in uncovering the many facets of the life of Emma Calvé.

A Beginning

2008-09-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

My interest in Emma Calvé started several years ago after watching Henry Lincoln's documentary on the mystery of Rennes le Chateau and its enigmatic priest Berenger Sauniere. There was a very small snippet in the documentary about this woman Emma Calvé,(Rosa Emma Calvet) a world famous opera singer from France, who may have had some form of relationship with the priest Francoise Berenger Sauniere.( There is no proof to date that they even knew each other) Drawn to the story and the possibility that Emma was a part of the whole Rennes le Chateau mystery, I took it upon myself to do a little digging, and eventually ended up visiting Rennes le Chateau, Millau, Mirepoix,Carcassonne and points in between. This blog will bring you on one not so famous womans journey into the life of a quite famous woman. You will meet other woman and men who are also fascinated by Emma and her life, and I will keep you up to date on my findings.

Welcome to my blog. Lori :)