[3] Born in New York City to parents who had immigrated from Italy, Duval began her career in San Francisco.
From 1957 she sang much in France, appearing in cities such as Lille, Nice, Rouen, Vichy, and Paris (1959–60, at the Opéra-Comique) as well as Algiers (1957–58).
With Franco Corelli, she appeared in the title role of a 1956 film adaptation of Tosca by RAI;[1] her voice was dubbed for the film by Maria Caniglia, reputedly because Tosca was a role which she had yet not sung professionally; she added it to her repertory in Santa Fe in 1960.
[4] Duval is closely associated with the title role in Gian-Carlo Menotti's opera Maria Golovin, which she created for Brussels in 1958.
She sang the role on Broadway as well, and appeared on the original cast recording and in the NBC Opera Theatre production in 1959.