Marie Sass
also Marie Sasse, Marie Constance Sasse, Marie Sax, Marie Saxe, Maria Constantia Claus
Birthplace: Ghent, Belgium
A Belgian soprano at the centre of the Paris Opéra through the 1860s. She studied with Gevaert at Ghent and Lamperti in Milan, and made her debut at Venice as Gilda in 1852. Found singing in Paris cafés, she joined Carvalho's Théâtre Lyrique in 1859 and the Opéra in 1860. She created Elisabeth in the Paris Tannhäuser, Sélika in Meyerbeer's L'Africaine and Élisabeth de Valois in Don Carlos. Adolphe Sax sued her twice over her stage name, which fell back from Sax to Saxe to Sasse. She married Armand Castelmary in 1864, retired in 1877, and died in poverty.
Creations
- Élisabeth de Valois — Don Carlos (Paris, 1867)
- Élisabeth — Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg (Paris, 1861)
Written from
- Wikipedia (2026) Marie Sasse. (Accessed: August 2026).
- Crichton, R. and Forbes, E. (1992) 'Sasse [Sax, Saxe, Sass], Marie (Constance)', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, p. 188.
- Kutsch, K.J. and Riemens, L. (1987) 'Sasse, Marie', in Großes Sängerlexikon. Bern and Stuttgart: Francke, vol. 2, cols. 2592-2593.
- Rescigno, E. (2001) 'Sasse, Marie-Constance', in Dizionario verdiano. Milan: Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli, pp. 475-476.
- State Archives of Belgium (n.d.) Maria Constantia Claus, born 26 January 1837, Ghent, birth no. 233, in Gent / Gand 1836–1837. Image 323. (Accessed: 18 October 2026).
- Archives de Paris (n.d.) Marie Constance Sasse, marriage, Paris 9e, 26 March 1864, register V4E 1003, image 27. (Accessed: 18 October 2026).