Rosine Stoltz (born Victoire or Victorine Noël) (13 January 1815 – 30 July 1903) was a French mezzo-soprano. A prominent member of the Paris Opéra, she created many leading roles there including Ascanio in Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini, Marguerite in Auber's Le lac des fées, the title role in Marie Stuart, and two Donizetti heroines, Léonor in La favorite and Zayda in Dom Sébastien. Early life and training Stoltz was born Victoire Noël on the boulevard du Montparnasse in Paris, the daughter of the concierges Florentin Noël and Clara Stoll. She received her first vocal training as a pensionnaire at the École Royale de Chant et Déclamation directed by Alexandre-Étienne Choron. Early career Just short of her sixteenth birthday she left Choron's school to travel in the Low Countries under the name of Mlle Ternaux. Her principal biographer Gustave Bord speculates that she had run away from the school with the son of the famous merchant of shawls on the Place des Victoires, Monsieur Ternaux. In Brussels, after having performed in the chorus of the Théâtre de la Monnaie, she made a tentative and unsuccessful attempt at performing in vaudeville. In 1831 she was engaged as second female vocalist with the opera in Spa, before appearing in Antwerp and Amsterdam under the name Mlle Héloïse. For the 1832–1833 season, she appeared in secondary roles at the Monnaie under the name of Mlle Ternaux, and in 1833–1834 was heard in Lille in Rossini's operas Il barbiere di Siviglia, Tancredi, and Otello, performing in Italian. It was during this period that she began her rivalry with the soprano Julie Dorus-Gras, who had come to Lille to sing Alice in Meyerbeer's Robert le diable. After Dorus-Gras' departure, Stoltz wanted to sing Alice, but the management offered it instead to the house soprano, Mme Léon. However, by the end of 1834 Stoltz appeared as Alice at the theatre in Antwerp, and also sang there as Gertrude in Paer's Le maître de chapelle. In 1835 Stoltz was again engaged at the Monnaie to sing secondary roles, and leading roles when needed, and opened the 1835–1836 season on 5 May 1835, under the name Mme Stoltz (inspired by her mother's maiden name), in the role of Alice in Robert le diable. On 23 December she sang Rachel in the Brussels's premiere of Halévy's La Juive, the success of which equaled that of Robert le diable in the