In a statement posted on her agent's web site, Cousin said, "I have decided to terminate my artistic career. The passion and wholeness that have always determined my way of singing will from now on lead my life in another direction."
Cousin's recent acclaimed roles include the prince in Honegger and Ibert's L'Aiglon at the Marseille Opera, and roles in Debussy's Pell_as et M_lisande at the Grand Th_ê¢tre in Geneva and Martinu's Juliette at the Op_ra National de Paris.
She has canceled her upcoming appearances, including Manon Lescaut at Vienna State Opera and a performance this week of Leonore with conductor Mark Minkowski, which was to have been broadcast over the radio.