Madeleine Milhaud

Madeleine Milhaud
Born	(1902-03-22)22 March 1902 Paris, France
Died	Paris, France
Occupation	Stage actress, librettist

Madeleine Milhaud (22 March 1902 – 17 January 2008) was a French actress and librettist. She was both cousin to and wife of composer Darius Milhaud.

Madeleine Milhaud was born in Paris. Her father was from Aix-en-Provence, and her mother from Brussels. She began acting at a young age, and had a long career as an actress and reciter.

Darius and Madeleine Milhaud were married in 1925; they had one son, Daniel (born 1930), a painter. Darius' piano suite La Muse Menagère (The Household Muse) is dedicated to her, and depicts their daily life together. She wrote the libretti for his operas Médée, Bolivar, and La Mère coupable.

The family fled France when the Germans were within range of Paris in May 1940. They reached Lisbon and from there sailed to America, where they and their 10-year-old son stayed for the remainder of the war. Darius taught at Mills College (in California) and Madeleine taught American students about French and French theatre. They returned to France in 1946.

Further reading

• Milhaud, Madeleine & Clary, Mildred (2002). Mon XXème siècle. Paris: Bleu Nuit Editeur.
• Nichols, Roger (1996). Conversations with Madeleine Milhaud. London: Faber and Faber Limited.