History UsefulNotes / JulieDAubigny

* TheRockStar: Opera singers were pretty much the rock stars of their day, and Julie was no exception. Some of her antics wouldn't be all that out of place among the excesses of the rock scene in the 70s and 80s.

** The first put her afoul of d'Albert Luyens when he crudely came on to her while she was singing one night at an inn. She found him and both his comrades, [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice stabbing Luyens through the shoulder]]. When he sent her a formal apology later, she slipped into his room, seduced him, and began a life-long friendship afterwards.

* CurbStompBattle: ''Many'' adversaries ended up on the receiving end of one at her hands, but the beating she gave [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Gaulard_Dumesny Dumesny]] -- both physically ''and'' [[HumiliationConga to his ego]] -- must be seen to be believed.[[note]]When he balked at dueling her over offenses he gave to several other female singer, she beat his ass with her cane and robbed him. When he embellished what happened later among the singers for sympathy she produced all his stolen effects and exposed him.[[/note]]

Julie d'Aubigny (1673-1707), also known as [[RedBaron La Maupin]], was a French noblewoman who enjoyed moderate success as an opera singer before dying at a young age. Many decades after her death, [[TallTale tall tales]] and posthumous gossip led to her becoming something of a folk hero in the popular imagination: a swashbuckling [[CulturedBadass swordswoman]] who lived a short but tumultuous life at the height of [[UsefulNotes/LEtatCestMoi French absolutism]]. Some of the highlights of her fictitious persona included:

Julie d'Aubigny (1673-1707), also known as [[RedBaron La Maupin]], was a French noblewoman who enjoyed moderate success as an opera singer before dying at a young age. Many decades after her death, tall tales and posthumous gossip led to her becoming something of a folk hero in the popular imagination: a swashbuckling [[CulturedBadass swordswoman]] who lived a short but tumultuous life at the height of [[UsefulNotes/LEtatCestMoi French absolutism]]. Some of the highlights of her fictitious persona included:

* Seducing her dad's boss, the Comte d'Armagnac, at the age of ''14'', marrying another guy on paper[[note]]"Maupin" was actually her husband's surname[[/note]], then running off with a third paramour (her fencing master, a man named Sérannes) to Marseilles, where she began singing in the opera[[note]](the period equivalent of becoming a [[TheRockStar rock star]])[[/note]].

* Alternatively seducing or beating up ([[InterplayOfSexAndViolence sometimes both]]) [[ReallyGetsAround most, if not all,]] of her fellow actors [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer and actresses]] in Paris.

* {{Bifauxnen}}: Add "wearing men's clothing when it was widely considered publicly indecent" to the very long list of taboo acts she committed repeatedly and openly [[RefugeInAudacity with no consequences suffered whatsoever.]]

* DefeatMeansFriendship: Friendship with ''benefits'', if you happened to be Louis-Joseph d'Albert Luynes. After he apologized after their duel, during which she ''drove a sword through his shoulder'', the two became lifelong best friends and fuck buddies. (Specifically, he sent her a letter apologizing for his rudeness, and complimenting her on [[WorthyOpponent how thoroughly she kicked his ass]], whereupon she went to his room and...also [[UnusualEuphemism apologized.]])

* DownerEnding: Julie's life may have been exciting, but it was also tragically short. Her date and cause of death is unclear, but she is believed to have died around 1707 at the age of 33 or 36[[note]]it is believed she passed away before her 34th birthday. However her exact birth date is unknown, and she may have been born as early as 1670[[/note]]. Her place of burial has also gone unrecorded.

* EasilyForgiven: Despite committing a few crimes with quite severe punishments (such as torching a convent, after which she was sentenced to death by burning, or getting into a duel after crashing a ball where the King's brother was in residence) she always had someone to intercede on her behalf and get her sentences overturned.
* EnsembleDarkHorse: When she first appeared at the opera she was already quite talented, but was nonetheless a supporting player. However Julie quickly [[SpotlightStealingSquad stole the spotlight]] from her more experienced costars, and established herself as an audience favorite. This eventually led to her becoming the first contralto to play the lead role in a major opera.

* EternalSexualFreedom: Tied in ''knots''. Julie was shamelessly promiscuous ''and'' openly bisexual in an era where homosexual relations were quite explicitly verboten, and sexuality in general was kept behind closed doors. To say nothing of being a woman who habitually dressed in men's clothing and was highly skilled with a blade. She only managed to get away with it through a combination of [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections friends in high places]] and sheer RefugeInAudacity to the point that no one could quite figure out ''what'' to do with her. [[note]]It's also believed that Louis the XIV's brother was gay and liked to cross-dress, so Louis the XIV didn't clamp down on homosexuality too hard out of concern for his brother, which led to Julie getting away with a lot of gay sex[[/note]].

* GirlyBruiser: As a star of the Paris Opera Julie wasn't unfamiliar with the high-class fashions of the day.
* GoldDigger: Many of Julie's lovers were men of status, including her father's boss, Louis de Lorraine-Guise, comte d'Armagnac, and Maximilian II Emanuel, ''Prince-Elector of Bavaria''. She used these connections to her advantage; d'Armagnac married her off to Sieur de Maupin, giving her a bit of respectability, (although as much to get the troublesome Julie out of his hair) and on several occasions interceded on her behalf with the King to have her legal troubles overturned. While Emanuel supported and sheltered her when she was exiled from Paris for dueling.
* GossipEvolution: While most of the stories surrounding Julie are fictitious, they seem to be predicated upon nuggets of truth. The historical Julie doesn't ever seem to have actually duelled anyone, much less killed them, but we do know that she was a keen fencer, and did have something of a temper, threatening to blow another woman's head off with a pistol at a dance. And while she was not a crossdresser in her personal life, her deep, richly textured voice let her convincingly play male roles in her opera performances, leading to one reviewer remarking that she perhaps ''should'' start wearing men's clothes outside of her roles.

* HotBlooded: Julie was noted for having a ''ferocious'' temper. In one notable incident Maximilian II tried to buy her off with 40,000 francs to get her to leave Brussels once she became too uncontrollable. In a rage she threw the purse at his messenger (and in some versions of the story ''physically assaulted him'').
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Julie's life-long [[PlatonicLifePartners frielationship]] with d'Albert Luyens effectively began when she drove her sword clear through his shoulder. As one does. A number of other opponents were also on the receiving end of this (though weren't fortunate enough for the RelationshipUpgrade afterwards, Luyens is presumably the only opponent lucky enough to pay her back and ''(ahem)'' [[DoubleEntendre impale her in return]]).

* NunTooHoly: When a paramour's parents shipped her off to a convent to avoid the scandal of their daughter having a homosexual relationship, Julie did what ''any'' sensible woman would do in her situation: She joined the convent herself to continue the relationship. Julie ended her stint in the church by [[RefugeInAudacity digging up a recently-deceased nun]], placing the body in her bed, ''[[CrazyEnoughToWork lighting the place on fire]]'', and absconding with her lover.

* OxymoronicBeing: Julie's public image is full of self-contradictions, which is perhaps best exemplified by her popular moniker "Mademoiselle de Maupin", since the title "Mademoiselle" (Fr. "Miss") was only used for unmarried women at the time, yet "Maupin" was the surname of Julie's ''husband''. The moniker seems to have originated from Gautier's eponymous novel, whose character based on her ''was'' unmarried, but the fact that it (rather than "Madame de Maupin") had also stuck to the real-life Julie is perhaps indicative how she managed to remain simultaneously married (''de jure'') and single (''de facto'') for most of her life.

* RedBaron: D'Aubigny is often referred as simply "La Maupin", which is a shortened form of "Madame de Maupin", i.e. "Maupin's wife", -- ironic, given how she doesn't seem to have ever seen her husband after the wedding.

* SamusIsAGirl: As discussed under SweetPollyOliver, it's unclear whether Julie's cross-dressing was done to ''disguise'' her sex or to ''call attention'' to it. However at least one version of her first meeting with d'Albert Luyens suggests that it wasn't until ''after'' their duel that she revealed she was a woman.

* SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll: The opera scene was pretty much the 17th Century equivalent; Partying, drinking, and promiscuity were rampant among the men and women of the opera companies, and Julie's wild escapades fit right in.

* TakingTheVeil: In one of her most legendary escapades she pulled this as a ruse to gain access to a lover when her parents sent the girl to a convent to keep them apart. She later joined a convent after retiring following the death of the Marquise de Florensac, and it's believed that this is where she eventually died.
* WanderingMinstrel: Julie's career started by singing in taverns and inns while traveling with her lover and fencing master, Sérannes, where she would sing to the patrons, while he would give demonstrations of swordplay.[[note]]Once Julie surpassed him with the sword she took on the whole show herself.[[/note]] This would become a regular fixture of her career for the rest of her life when she wasn't working with one of the formal opera companies.

* The 1966 Italian film ''Madamigella di Maupin'', directed by Mauro Bolognini and starring Catherine Spaak, is loosely based on the real-life d'Aubigny and on Gautier's novel.

* Théophile Gautier's romantic novel ''Mademoiselle de Maupin'' (1835) is VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory of d'Aubigny, in which Comte d'Albert and his mistress Rosette both [[SweetOnPollyOliver fall for]] the mysterious androgynous "Théodore de Sérannes", who is actually Madeleine de Maupin. The book was so subversive of the gender ideas at the time, it was actually banned by {{Media Watchdog}}s in several countries.

* {{Cuckold}}: It should be noted that throughout her wild career Julie was actually ''married''. Some speculation suggests that rather than the convent, she may actually have returned to her husband when she retired. Or that they reconnected before his death, and she retired to the convent afterwards.

* EternalSexualFreedom: Tied in ''knots''. Julie was shamelessly promiscuous ''and'' openly bisexual in an era where homosexual relations were quite explicitly verboten, and sexuality in general was kept behind closed doors. To say nothing of being a woman who habitually dressed in men's clothing and was highly skilled with a blade. She only managed to get away with it through a combination of [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections friends in high places]] and sheer RefugeInAudacity to the point that no one could quite figure out ''what'' to do with her.

* Returning to Paris in 1690 to sing in the world-famous Paris Opera, first as a soprano, but eventually switching to her natural ContraltoOfDanger over the years.[[note]]This applies to the real d'Aubigny as well. In fact, ''Tancrède''[='=]s [[WarriorPrince Saracene princess]] Clorinde, a part written specifically for her, is considered to be the first major contralto role in the history of French opera.[[/note]]

* ContraltoOfDanger: Julie was known for her simmering contralto voice. In fact, she was the ''first'' contralto to sing the lead role in the Paris Opera, and if not the UrExample, may at least be the TropeMaker.

Julie d'Aubigny (1673-1707), also known as [[RedBaron La Maupin]], was a notorious French [[CulturedBadass swordswoman and opera singer]] who lived a short but tumultuous life at the height of [[UsefulNotes/LEtatCestMoi French absolutism]], surrounded by many legends and myths. Some of her (alleged) highlights included:

* Returning to Paris in 1690 to sing in the world-famous Paris Opera, first as a soprano, but eventually switching to her natural ContraltoOfDanger over the years.[[note]]In fact, ''Tancrède''[='=]s [[WarriorPrince Saracene princess]] Clorinde, a part written specifically for her, is considered to be the first major contralto role in the history of French opera.[[/note]]

As you may imagine, La Maupin's life has inspired numerous works of fiction, as well as more than a few ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D]]''-style [[TheBard bards]].

Julie d'Aubigny (1673-1707), also known as [[RedBaron La Maupin]], was a notorious French [[CulturedBadass swordswoman and opera singer]] who lived a short but tumultuous life at the height of [[UsefulNotes/LEtatCestMoi French absolutism]]. Some of her (alleged) highlights included:

Julie d'Aubigny (1673-1707), also known as [[RedBaron La Maupin]], was a notorious French [[CulturedBadass swordswoman and opera singer]] who lived a short but tumultuous life at the height of [[UsefulNotes/LEtatCestMoi French absolutism]]. Some of her highlights included:

* The 2004 TV movie ''Julie, chevalier de Maupin'' (directed by Charlotte Brandström, starring Sarah Biasini) re-imagines d'Aubigny's character around her martial and singing talents instead of her sexuality (like Gautier's novel) and plays ''very'' fast and loose with actual episodes of her life.

----

* Starting an affair with a girl, following her to a convent where [[LockedAwayInAMonastery her parents sent her in response]], then placing the body of a [[FakingTheDead dead nun in the girl's bed]] and [[RefugeInAudacity setting the entire place on fire]] to cover their escape.[[note]]For this, she was convicted, albeit as a ''man'' (whether out of genuine confusion, or to mitigate the scandal is unclear), but was personally pardoned by the Sun King, at the behest of d'Armagnac.[[/note]]

* OxymoronicBeing: Julie's public image is full of self-contradictions, which is perhaps best exemplified by her popular moniker "Mademoiselle de Maupin", since "Mademoiselle" (Fr. "Miss") is a title used only for unmarried women at the time, yet "Maupin" was the surname of Julie's ''husband''. The moniker seems to have originate from Gautier's eponymous novel, whose character based on her ''was'' unmarried, but the fact that it (rather than "Madame de Maupin") stuck to the real-life Julie is perhaps indicative how she managed to both remain ''de jure'' married and ''de facto'' single at the same time for most of her life.

* NunTooHoly: When a paramour's parents shipped her off to a convent to avoid the scandal of their daughter having a homosexual relationship, Julie did what ''any'' sensible woman would do in her situation: She joined the convent herself to continue the relationship. Julie ended her stint in the church by [[RefugeInAudacity digging up a recently-deceased nun]], placing the body in her bed, ''[[CrazyAwesome lighting the place on fire]]'', and absconding with her lover.