First he was a railroad employee; the voice of the artist was discovered during his military service. A patron financed his education and he stufied at the conservatory of Ghent. In 1883 he appeared first in a public concert in Ghent . He debuted in 1885 at the opera house of Lille as Lord Enrico Ashton in Gaetano Donizetti's ‘’Lucia di Lammermoor’’. After appearances at the opera houses of Ghent (1886) and Antwerp (1887-89), he sang from 1888-91 at the opera house of Lyon . In the 1892-93 season he performed at the opera house of Marseille. Since 1887 he appeared at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels . Here he had big success and sang on 19. 2. 1897 in the premiere of the opera ‘’Messidor’’ of Alfred Bruneau. In 1893 he made his debut at the Grand Opéra of Paris (debut as Rigoletto) in which he had a shining career longer than thirty years. For this opera house he created among other things the role of Donner in ‘’Rheingold’’ (1909) and the role Alberich in ‘’Siegfried’’ (1901, in French). At the opera house of Monte Carlo he appeared in the premiere of the opera ‘’Le Tasse’’ of Eugène d'Harcourt (14. 2. 1903) and in Massenet’s opera ‘’Roma’’ (17. 2. 1912). He appeared in concert at the Metropolitan Opera of New York. Still in 1921 he sang at the Grand Opéra in the premiere of the opera ‘’Antar’’ of Gabriel Dupont.
Chronology of some appearances
1885 Lille Opera house Lucia di Lammermoor (Lord Enrico Ashton)
1893 Paris Grand Opera Rigoletto (Rigoletto)
1901 Paris Grand Opera Rheingold (Donner)
1903 Paris Grand Opera Siegfried (Alberich)
RECORDINGS FOR SALE
G&T, Paris 1902
Hamlet (Thomas): O vin dissipe (Chanson bachique) 2-32572 1034F
Guillaume Tell (Rossini): Duo with Affre 34003 1181-F
G&T, Paris 1903
Favorite (Donizetti): Jardins de l'Alcazar 2-32902 2247F
Troubadour (Verdi): Son regard, son doux sourire 2-32903 2248F
G&T, Paris 1904
Charles VI (Halevy): Guerre aux tyrans 3-32060 2956F
Dutreih cylinders & discs, Paris 1904?
Don Giovanni (Mozart): Sérénade 150025
Zonophone, Paris 1904
Faust (Gounod): La mort de Valentin X-82467
Hérodiade (Massenet): Vision fugitive X-82465
Odeon, Paris 1904?
Benvenuto Cellini (Diaz): De l'art splendeur immortelle 33677 XP609
Zonophone, Paris 1905 (or late 1904)
Jocelyn (Godard): Berceuse X-82470
Zonophone, Paris 1905
Les sapins (Dupont) X-82477
Edison 2-min cylinders, Paris 1905?
Guillaume Tell (Rossini): Sois immobile 17235
Roi de Lahore (Massenet): Arioso 17359
Roi de Lahore (Massenet): Arioso 17359
Les rameaux (Faure) 17377
Odeon, Paris 1905
La Marseillaise (de l'Isle) 36332 XP2031
Odeon, Paris 1905
Le chant du départ (Méhul) 36365 XP2094
Traviata (Verdi): Lorsqu’а de folles amours 36334 xP 2033
Troubadour (Verdi): Son regard, son doux sourire 36347 xP2091
G&T, Paris 1906
Traviata (Verdi): Lorsqu'à de folles amours 3-32656 5369o
Zonophone, Paris 1906
Favorite (Donizetti): Pour tant d'amour X-82474
Hamlet (Thomas): O vin dissipe la tristesse X-82473
Favorite, Paris 1906
Hérodiade (Massenet):Vision fugitive 1-5135
Tannhäuser (Wagner): Romance de l'étoile 1-5301
Odeon, Paris 1906-08?
Guillaume Tell (Rossini): Ses jours qu'ils ont osé proscrire, pt 1 with Affre & Nivette 36729 XP2585
Guillaume Tell (Rossini): Ses jours qu'ils ont osé proscrire, pt 2 with Affre & Nivette 36730 XP2586
Pathe - A.P.G.A., Paris 1910/1912?
Aben-Hamet (Dubois): Reine, toi qu’Hamet P.34
Africaine (Meyerbeer): Ballade P.35
Africaine (Meyerbeer): Fille de Roi P.35
Ballo in maschera (Verdi): Ah! C’est Dieu qui vous inspire P.31
Charles VI (Halevy): Avec la douce chansonnette P83
Favorite (Donizetti): Jardins de l’Alcazar P.88
Favorite (Donizetti): Pour tant d’amour P.88
Guillaume Tell (Rossini): Ah, Mathilde with Fontaine 2543
Lakme (Delibes): Stances P34
Muette de Portici (Auber): Amour sacré with Fontaine 2541
Nerone (Rubinstein): Hymen! Hymen! P.81
Pêcheurs de perles (Bizet): Au fond du temple saint with Fontaine 2540
Reine ce Chypre (Halevy): Triste exile R 13-2548
Reine ce Chypre (Halevy): Duo with Fontaine 2542
Rigoletto (Verdi): Ma fille!…Mon pere! con Gall 2500
Africaine (Meyerbeer): Ballade de Nélusko P102
Coupe du Roi de Thulé (Diaz): Il est venu P114
Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti): D'un amour qui me brave P112
Messaline (de Lara): O nuit d'mour P112
Roi de Paris (Hue ): Chanson de Longnac P118
Tannhäuser (Wagner): Romance à l'étoile P107
Cid (Massenet): C'est vous que l'on bénit P0117 P0117-1
Hérodiade (Massenet): Vision fugitive P0106 P0106-1
Mireille (Massenet): Livret de Michel Carre P2114 P2114-1
Pensée d'automne (Massenet) P2114 P2114-2
Hérodiade (Massenet): Vision fugitive P0106 P0106-1
Mireille (Massenet): Livret de Michel Carre P2114 P2114-1
Pensée d'automne (Massenet) P2114 P2114-2
Pathe, Paris 1912?
Complete Troubadour (Verdi)with Morlet and Fontaine
Chantal, Bruxelles?
Carmen (Bizet): Air du Toréador 2169
Henri VIII (Saint-Saens): Qui donc commande 2037
MOLTO BELLO!!! Thank you for sharing this valuable biographical information.
ReplyDeleteHaving acquired recently some vertical-cut Pathés of Jean Noté I am most grateful for the biographical details of this baritone who sang in the grand manner. Thank you.
ReplyDelete