Arnaud studied music in
Brussels with
Mina Bolotine, making her debut as the
Queen of the Night at the
Royal Flemish Opera. She performed at
La Monnaie in 1960, remaining on the roster there for ten years, during which she also performed in
Ghent,
Verviers,
Liège,
Bordeaux, and
Bonn. She sang Olympia in ''
Les contes d'Hoffmann'' for the
Paris Opera in 1963. In 1960, she debuted at the
Glyndebourne Festival as the Queen of the Night, a role which she sang there the following year as well. In 1964 her performance of the role from the festival was televised. Other roles in her repertory included Gilda in
Rigoletto; Donna Anna and Zerlina in
Don Giovanni; Leila in
Les pêcheurs de perles; Zdenka in
Arabella; Sophie in
Der Rosenkavalier; Musetta in
La bohème; Rosina in
The Barber of Seville; Zerbinetta in
Ariadne auf Naxos; Woglinde in
Der Ring des Nibelungen; the princess in
Mârouf, savetier du Caire; and the title roles in
Manon and
Lucia di Lammermoor. Her work in contemporary opera included the role of Bolivia in the opera '''' (group-composed by
Louis Andriessen,
Reinbert de Leeuw,
Peter Schat and ). She also taught at the Royal Conservatory in
Mons. ==Death==