A lyric singer from Martinique, where she was born on March 24, 1932, Christiane Eda-Pierre enjoyed great success at both the Opéra-Comique and the Palais Garnier, where she distinguished herself in Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti), Rigoletto, La Traviata (Verdi) and Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Offenbach), which brought her a triumph in 1977 in Patrice Chéreau's production. In 1983, this soprano, well-versed in all styles and periods, from Baroque to contemporary, took part in the premiere of Messiaen's Saint-François d'Assise alongside José Van Dam. A teacher at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (1977-1997) and then at the Schola Cantorum in Basel, she left an indelible mark on the French opera singing scene, as evidenced by the compilation L'Art de Christiane Eda-Pierre (2013), a reissue of her Airs d'Opéras Comiques recital (1979), conducted by Neville Marriner. Grand officier de l'Ordre national du Mérite (2011) and Officier de la Légion d'honneur (2016), Christiane Eda-Pierre died on September 6, 2020, at the age of 88.
