ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a biography of mid- to late-19th-century singer Dolores Nau. 'Mademoiselle Nau's' early life and her family have been written about a number of times, and her highly successful career can be seen, in black and white, in detail, and in contemporary documents, for all to dig up. Mlle Nau was pre-named 'Maria Dolores Benedicta Josephine', and that she was born on 18 March 1818, of parents who were refugees from the slave revolts in Saint-Domingue. Mlle Nau was criticised for decorating the soprano music in The Creation at the Conservatoire Concerts with excess ornamentation, and also when she first played Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Mlle Nau was spoken of when she picked up the role of Ricciarda in Guido et Ginevra after Stoltz threw it in after one performance, and Halevy composed a new cavatina to be added to the score for her. Mlle Nau was well and truly in demand in London.
