Les Génies ou les Caractères de l’Amour is an opera/ballet of 1736 by one Mademoiselle Duval who was 22 at the time.  Almost nothing is known about Duval except that she was at one time a chorus member at the Royal Opera in Paris.  It seems reasonable to deduce that she was from a family of professional musicians and that’s how she got her training.  FWIW Les Génies was only the second opera by a woman to be produced by the Royal Opera.  It’s recently been recorded for CD under the auspices of Château de Versailles Spectacles. Continue reading →