Pauline Thys
Born: 23 October 1835, Paris, France
Died: 5 September 1909, Ixelles, Belgium
BIOGRAPHY MUSIC SOURCES
Pauline Marie Elisa Thys [Sébault], a French composer and librettist, was born in Paris. Her father, Alphonse Thys, was an opéra comique composer. Thys first excelled at composing chansonnettes and romances for small salon venues, some of which were published by Heugel early in her career. As she ventured into composing larger works for the stage, Thys began writing the music and libretto for an operetta, La Pomme de Turquie (1857). She wrote several more operettas before marrying in 1860. Her marriage, which likely led to a divorce, negatively affected her compositional output for almost 10 years.
Returning to the theater in 1875, Thys premiered Fruit vert and continued composing at least 16 more operas, operettas, plays and opéra-comiques. Many of them were performed at Parisian theaters and, later, in other parts of Europe; Nedjeya premiered in Naples, Italy (1880) and Les Bonnes Bêtes in Berlin, Germany. She was also a founder of the Association des femmes artistes et professeurs and became a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes académiques.
Thys most likely remarried Charles Marque Du Coin because she began using the pseudonym M.Du Coin. Her compositional output was, again, aversely affected by her marriage. She later died in 1909.