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Spanish mezzo-soprano, teacher, composer. Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García in Paris (1821). Debuted in Brussels (1837). Soloist of the Italian opera (from 1839). Married Louis Viardot (1840). Performed in St Petersburg (1843–46). Intimate friend of Ivan Turgenev. Left the stage (1863). Taught singing at the Paris Conservatoire (from 1871). Died in Paris and buried at the Cimetière de Montmartre (1910).