When Gounod met Georgina

When, 150 years ago, the French composer encountered the voluptuous singing teacher, sparks flew and London and Paris were agog. Henrietta Bredin recounts the tale of their short-lived, but tumultuous relationship

- Henrietta Bredin

PARIS, 1872, Le Gaulois newspaper: ‘Was there ever a more singular history than that of Gounod and the Englishwoman? Since Delilah, who cut off Samson’s hair, never has there been anything socurious. At her feet he forgets all —family and country! Passion has taken possession of the artist’s brain and driven from it the remembrance of all that is decent.’

What had provoked this outburst? Best remembered today as the composer of Faust, an opera that has maintained its popular appeal, although his other works have largely disappeared from the repertory, Charles Gounod (1818–93) was a mass of contradictions. He was a charmer who adored the company of women, but who yearned for a more solitary, contemplative existence and spent some years studying for the priesthood. His religious zeal was matched by his enthusiasm for the theatre and public acclaim. He wrote grand Masses and operas, pulled constantly between the sacred and the secular.

At the outbreak of the Franco- Prussian War in 1870, he fell prey to despair about the fate of France and the impossibility of pursuing his musical career ‘beneath an enemy flag’. Gathering his family together—wife, two children and mother-in-law— Gounod took refuge in London, where he was already well known and where his admirers included Queen Victoria. He rapidly became a Society favourite, appearing at select gatherings to perform his own songs and extracts from his operas, accompanying himself on the piano. His voice was tuneful and slightly husky, and he performed with beguiling intensity.

At one such gathering, in February 1871, a young woman named Georgina Weldon was overcome with emotion. Assuming herself to be the target of Gounod’s ardent glances, she began to sob uncontrollably, retired behind a curtain to recover and emerged only when the other guests had gone. She and the composer of the hour struck up an immediate friendship.