Tavie Belge

Tavie Belge (March 12, 1894 – May 13, 1965) was the American stage name of Belgian singer and actress Octavie Belloy.

Tavie Belge LOC 29086352585
Tavie Belge, from a 1919 publication.

Early life

Octavie Belloy was born into an artistic family in the Borgerhout district of Antwerp. She was the daughter of Petrus Franciscus Belloy, a dancer,[1] and Maria Van Leemput. She was working in theatre from age six,[2] and studied voice in Antwerp.[3] At sixteen, Octavie Belloy was appearing with the Royal Flemish Opera.

Belloy left Belgium on foot as a refugee during World War I. Upon arrival in London, she experienced temporary paralysis, which she described as a reaction to the shock of the experience.[4][5]

In America

She gave many concerts for war relief causes during World War I, in England, Canada, and the United States.[6][7] In 1918 she appeared as "Tavie Belge" in the Broadway operetta Fiddlers Three. She was described as having "a rich dramatic soprano of fine range, of wonderfully even quality and tone."[8]

Later life

In 1919, Tavie Belge married her childhood friend, Marechal Emile P. Hendrickx, after they met again in New York, while he was secretary of the Belgian War Mission to the United States.[9][10] They had a son together, Reginald. Emile owned a hotel in Antwerp, and Octavie resumed her work with the Royal Flemish Opera. She also made several recordings in Belgium in the 1920s.[11] She retired from singing by 1926, but continued in the employ of the Opera until 1935. She was widowed in 1944. and died in 1965, aged 71 years.[12][13] Her papers are archived at the University of Antwerp.[14]

Belloy, Alberta

There was a rail station and community at Belloy, Alberta, named for Octavie Belloy, in gratitude for her singing to soldiers and for war relief causes.[15][16] The nearby geological feature, the Belloy Formation, was named for the place.

References
  1. "Tavie Belge is a Belgian Prima Donna" Boston Globe (December 1, 1918): 50. via Newspapers.com
  2. Nora Harney, "Personality Pictures: Tavie Belge" Theatre Magazine (January 1919): 24.
  3. Richard T. Soper, Belgian Opera Houses and Singers (Reprint Company 1999): 193. ISBN 9780871525161
  4. "The War Experiences of Mlle. Tavie Belge, Singer" Baltimore Sun (January 5, 1919): 45. via Newspapers.com
  5. "Tavie Belge Had Her Experience with Hun" Battle Creek Enquirer (February 6, 1919): 12. via Newspapers.com
  6. "Concert for Belgians Tonight" The Harvard Crimson (March 1, 1916).
  7. "Theatrical Stars in Canteen Benefit" New York Times (September 22, 1918): 4. via ProQuest
  8. S. R. L. "Fiddlers Three" Music News (February 14, 1919): 18c.
  9. "Tavie Belge to Marry Belgian" New York Times (May 20, 1919): 15. via ProQuest
  10. "Tavie Belge Marries" New York Times (May 23, 1919): 9. via ProQuest
  11. "Octavie Belloy", CHARM: AHRC Research Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music.
  12. "Octavie Belloy" grafmonument, Schoonselhof.
  13. "Emile Hendrickx" grafmonument, Schoonselhof.
  14. Archief van Octavie Belloy, Letterenhuis, Universiteit Antwerpen.
  15. "Belloy: The Belgian Opera Singer" Town Spirit (June 25, 2011).
  16. Aphrodite Karamitsanis, Merrily K. Aubrey, Place Names of Alberta: Northern Alberta (University of Calgary Press 1996): 13. ISBN 9781895176599
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