{{short description|Belgian operatic singer}} thumb|Blanche Arral, from a 1909 publication. '''Blanche Arral''' (10 October 1864 – 3 March 1945) was a Belgian coloratura soprano.
Born '''Clara Lardinois''' in Liège, Belgium, the youngest of 17 children, she studied under Mathilde Graumann Marchesi in Paris. She debuted in a small part in the 1884 world premiere of Jules Massenet's ''Manon''. Arral performed in various opera houses in Brussels, Paris and St. Petersburg before moving to the United States.
In 1901 she was with a touring company in Indochina, while waiting for the 1902 Exposition of Hanoi to open, performing at Haiphong and the Hanoi Opera House.<ref>''The extraordinary operatic adventures of Blanche Arral'' Ira Glackens, William R. Moran - 2002 -"Like so many theaters in remote places, it was a small-scale model of the Paris Opera, new and with all the latest equipment for theatrical productions. It was our plan to give performances in Haiphong until such time as the International Exposition at Hanoi opened, and then to alternate between the two cities."</ref>
In October 1909 she debuted at Carnegie Hall and joined the Metropolitan Opera for the 1909–1910 season. She received her voice instruction from Mathilde Graumann Marchesi. Arral was married to Hamilton Dwight Bassett, a journalist from Cincinnati.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Extraordinary Operatic Adventures of Blanche Arral |last= Glackens |first= Ira |year= 2002 |publisher= Hal Leonard Corporation |isbn= 1-57467-077-8 |page= [https://archive.org/details/extraordinaryope00arra/page/313 313] |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/extraordinaryope00arra/page/313 }}</ref> Author Jack London based the character of Lucille Arral in his short story collection ''Smoke Bellew'' on Blanche Arral.
She died in Palisades Park, New Jersey.
==References== {{Reflist}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20120921152734/http://www.historicopera.com/p-early-french_page1.html Historic Opera - photo] {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arral, Blanche}} Category:1864 births Category:1945 deaths Category:Belgian operatic sopranos Category:Walloon musicians Category:Musicians from Liège Category:19th-century Belgian women opera singers Category:20th-century Belgian women opera singers
{{Belgium-opera-singer-stub}}