Éric Tappy (born 19 May 1931) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

Jacques Lonchampt Jacques Lonchampt (10 August 1925 in Lyon – 27 December 2014 in Paris)

''L'opéra aujourd'hui; journal de musique'', 1970 p153 "On a découvert un étonnant Zoroastre en Éric Tappy." Tappy was born in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

. He studied with Fernando Carpi at the Geneva Conservatory and with Ernst Reichert in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

. He made his concert debut in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

in 1959 as the Evangelist in the

St. Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...

. He made his American debut as Don Ottavio at the San Francisco Opera in 1974. That same year, the tenor first appeared at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, in the name part of ''La clemenza di Tito''. Among his recordings are ''L'Orfeo'' (1968), ''Pelléas et Mélisande'' (conducted by

Armin Jordan Armin Jordan (9 April 1932 – 20 September 2006) was a Swiss conductor known for his interpretations of French music, Mozart and Wagner. Armin Jordan was born in Lucerne, Switzerland. "Mr. Jordan was a large man, with a slab of a face and a ful ...

, 1979), and ''Die Zauberflöte'' (opposite

Ileana Cotrubaș Ileana Cotrubaș (; born 9 June 1939) is a Romanian operatic soprano whose career spanned from the 1960s to the 1980s. She was much admired for her acting skills and facility for singing opera in many different languages. Life and career Cotruba ...

as Pamina with

Zdzisława Donat Zdzisława Donat-Pajda (born 4 July 1936, in Poznań) is a Polish coloratura soprano. She studied in Warsaw and Siena, where she was a pupil of Gino Bechi. In 1964, Donat debuted in Poznań, as Gilda in ''Rigoletto'', and later appeared in many ...

as the Queen of Night, conducted by James Levine, 1980). Tappy was also featured in two films by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle: ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' (conducted by

Nikolaus Harnoncourt Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt or historically Johann Nikolaus Graf de la Fontaine und d'Harnoncourt-Unverzagt; () (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music ...

, 1979) and ''La clemenza di Tito'' (with Tatiana Troyanos and

Carol Neblett Carol Lee Neblett (February 1, 1946 – November 23, 2017) was an American operatic soprano. Life and career Neblett was born in Modesto, California and raised in Redondo Beach. She studied at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1969 ...

, 1980). Tappy was known for his wide range of concert and opera repertoire. He retired in 1982.

References

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Short biography
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tappy, Eric 1931 births Living people 20th-century Swiss male opera singers Swiss operatic tenors People from Lausanne