A long-term member of the Paris opera houses, she was known internationally for leading roles especially in the French repertoire, such as Gounod's Mireille and Marguerite, Massenet's Manon and Micaëla in Bizet's Carmen.

Among her many recordings, the 1964 Carmen conducted by Georges Prêtre, with Maria Callas in the title role and Nicolai Gedda as her lover, brought her lasting fame.

[3] She made her stage debut at the Opéra de Nancy in 1955 as Marguerite in Gounod's Faust,[2] preparing the role simultaneously to her studies.

[3] She remained with the company from 1957 to 1972, performing the title roles of Gounod's Mireille and Marguerite, Massenet's Manon, Micaëla in Bizet's Carmen and Mimi in Puccini's La bohème, among others.

[2][1] From 1977, she was a professor at the Conservatoire de Paris,[1] succeeding her teacher Janine Micheau,[2] where the soprano Valérie Millot was among her students.

[7] A reviewer who compared recordings of Carmen in 2017, wrote her performance on a very French version that "she gives Micaëla the gutsy profile she too often lacks, especially in her main aria which she delivers in a big, slightly edgy and very positive manner rather than the usual wilting appeal, and I like it.