Minette (actress)

Minette, (Port-au-Prince 1767-1789), was a Haitian actress, singer and dancer, one of the most popular in Saint Domingue, Pre-revolutionary Haiti. She often performed with her sister Lise (1769-1789), and they were commonly known as Minette et Lise.

Biography

Minette was born in Port-au-Prince in Saint Domingue in the affranchi. Her father was white, and her mother an affranchie of African origin. She and her sister was discovered by Madame Acquarie, an actress and singer in the Port-au-Prince Theatre, who offered them lessons in acting, which they accepted, and in 1780, they debuted in the ballet "la Danse sur le Volcan". Minette in particular showed talent for singing, and in 25 December 1780, they were hired at the theatre by Francois Saint-Martin, and in 13 February 1781 she performed in the part of Isabelle in the Opera "Isabelle et Gertrude". Though Saint Domingue was a slave society, it was not forbidden for non-whites to work on the stage, and Minette was to be very popular and rivaled Jeanne-Marie Marsan la Blanche, the prima donna of Cap-Haitien, though Saint-Martin was criticized by some to "degradate art" by hiring coloured actors, and her career also attracted envy and slander; some was also provoked by her luxurious costumes. Minette and Lise sang in numerous concerts and operas of the 1780s, among them "Sylvain", "Zémire et Azor", "Aucassin et Nicolette", "L’Amant jaloux" and "La caravane du Caire". The sisters are mentioned as the perhaps most popular non-white actors before the revolution and also among the first non-white actors on stage. Lise was not to be as successful as Minette, but also had a good career touring the theatres of Port-au-Prince, Leogane, Cayes and Saint-Marc after a performance in Cayes 1784. Minette and Lise were both killed in 1789 under racial riots during the first revolt in Haiti before the great revolution of 1791.

References

* http://www.haiticulture.ch/Minette_et_Lise.html
* http://www.joyousjam.com/jamaicasclassicalmusicians/id8.html
* http://www.africultures.com/index.asp?menu=affiche_article&no=3288