Tavie Belge
Tavie Belge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Octavie Belloy March 12 1894 |
| Died | May 13, 1965 |
Tavie Belge (March 12, 1894 – May 13, 1965) was the American stage name of Belgian singer and actress Octavie Belloy.
Early life[edit]
Octavie Belloy was born into an artistic family in the Borgerhout district of Antwerp. She was the daughter of Petrus Franciscus Belloy, a dancer,[1] and Maria Van Leemput. She was working in theatre from age six,[2] and studied voice in Antwerp.[3] At sixteen, Octavie Belloy was appearing with the Royal Flemish Opera.
Belloy left Belgium on foot as a refugee during World War I. Upon arrival in London, she experienced temporary paralysis, which she described as a reaction to the shock of the experience.[4][5]
In America[edit]
She gave many concerts for war relief causes during World War I, in England, Canada, and the United States.[6][7] In 1918 she appeared as "Tavie Belge" in the Broadway operetta Fiddlers Three. She was described as having "a rich dramatic soprano of fine range, of wonderfully even quality and tone."[8]
Later life[edit]
In 1919, Tavie Belge married her childhood friend, Marechal Emile P. Hendrickx, after they met again in New York, while he was secretary of the Belgian War Mission to the United States.[9][10] They had a son together, Reginald. Emile owned a hotel in Antwerp, and Octavie resumed her work with the Royal Flemish Opera. She also made several recordings in Belgium in the 1920s.[11] She retired from singing by 1926, but continued in the employ of the Opera until 1935. She was widowed in 1944. and died in 1965, aged 71 years.[12][13] Her papers are archived at the Letterenhuis.[14]
Belloy, Alberta[edit]
There was a rail station and community at Belloy, Alberta, named for Octavie Belloy, in gratitude for her singing to soldiers and for war relief causes.[15][16] The nearby geological feature, the Belloy Formation, was named for the place.
References[edit]
- ^ "Tavie Belge is a Belgian Prima Donna" Boston Globe (December 1, 1918): 50. via Newspapers.com
- ^ Nora Harney, "Personality Pictures: Tavie Belge" Theatre Magazine (January 1919): 24.
- ^ Richard T. Soper, Belgian Opera Houses and Singers (Reprint Company 1999): 193. ISBN 9780871525161
- ^ "The War Experiences of Mlle. Tavie Belge, Singer" Baltimore Sun (January 5, 1919): 45. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Tavie Belge Had Her Experience with Hun" Battle Creek Enquirer (February 6, 1919): 12. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Concert for Belgians Tonight" The Harvard Crimson (March 1, 1916).
- ^ "Theatrical Stars in Canteen Benefit" New York Times (September 22, 1918): 4. via ProQuest
- ^ S. R. L. "Fiddlers Three" Music News (February 14, 1919): 18c.
- ^ "Tavie Belge to Marry Belgian" New York Times (May 20, 1919): 15. via ProQuest
- ^ "Tavie Belge Marries" New York Times (May 23, 1919): 9. via ProQuest
- ^ "Octavie Belloy", CHARM: AHRC Research Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music.
- ^ "Octavie Belloy" grafmonument, Schoonselhof.
- ^ "Emile Hendrickx" grafmonument, Schoonselhof.
- ^ Archief van Octavie Belloy, Letterenhuis.
- ^ "Belloy: The Belgian Opera Singer" Town Spirit (June 25, 2011).
- ^ Aphrodite Karamitsanis, Merrily K. Aubrey, Place Names of Alberta: Northern Alberta (University of Calgary Press 1996): 13. ISBN 9781895176599
