Lucy Arbell (1878–1947) assumed an important position in Massenet's compositional process and output. Beginning with Ariane in 1906, he wrote principal or secondary roles for the singer in all of his operas, as well as the celebrated song cycle Expressions lyriques (1909–1911). Despite Massenet's admiration, the French contralto was received ambivalently by critics and she fell into oblivion soon after his death. For some, her talents as an actress could not make up for the mediocre quality of her voice. Drawing on unpublished and hitherto unknown archival documents, this article explores Arbell's career, which has been largely overlooked by scholars. I reveal how her career's evolution was intimately connected to the professional and sentimental relationship between singer and composer. Massenet notably wrote roles for her that included extensive use of spoken declamation, which sets them apart in the history of opera.

中文翻译：

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“那里一定有我们不知道的东西”：马斯内特和露西·阿贝尔

Lucy Arbell (1878–1947) 在 Massenet 的作曲过程和作品中占据重要位置。以。。。开始阿丽亚娜1906年，他在他所有的歌剧以及著名的歌曲循环中为这位歌手写了主要或次要角色表达抒情诗（1909-1911）。尽管马斯内很钦佩，这位法国女低音还是被评论家们矛盾地接受了，她在他死后不久就被遗忘了。对一些人来说，她作为女演员的才华无法弥补她平庸的嗓音。本文借鉴未发表和迄今未知的档案文件，探讨了阿贝尔在很大程度上被学者忽视的职业生涯。我揭示了她职业生涯的发展如何与歌手和作曲家之间的专业和情感关系密切相关。马斯奈特为她写了一些角色，其中包括广泛使用口头声明，这使他们在歌剧史上脱颖而出。