Adolphe (Alphonse) Maréchal (26 September 1867 – 1 February 1935) was a Belgian

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing 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 low extreme for tenors is wide ...

whose career in the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and Italian repertoire took him to France and England.Steane JB. Adolphe Maréchal. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.

Life and career

Maréchal was born in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far fro ...

. Having studied at the Liège Conservatoire, Maréchal made his debut at Dijon in 1891 and toured the French provinces, singing in Rheims, Nice, Bordeaux,Scott M. ''The Record of Singing to 1914.'' Duckworth, London, 1977. and especially at the Théâtre du Grand Cercle in Aix-les-Bains.La Roque A. ''Acteurs & Actrices de Paris.'' 33 Édition, 4 Serie. Paris, 1899. He was engaged by the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

in 1895, making his debut as Don José in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the ...

'' on 7 October 1895. His repertoire at the Opéra-Comique covered ''

Cavalleria Rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play ...

'' (Turriddu), ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, ''El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

'' (don Ottavio), '' Les dragons de Villars'' (Sylvain), ''

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

'', '' Lakmé'' (Gérald), ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was firs ...

'' (des Grieux), '' Mireille'' (Vincent), '' La Navarraise'' (Araquil), ''

Le pardon de Ploërmel ''Dinorah'', originally ''Le pardon de Ploërmel'' (''The Pardon of Ploërmel''), is an 1859 French opéra comique in three acts with music by Giacomo Meyerbeer and a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. The story takes place near the rura ...

'' (Un faucheur), ''

Les pêcheurs de perles ' (''The Pearl Fishers'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances ...

'' (Nadir), ''

Le pré aux clercs ''Le pré aux clercs'' (''The Clerks' Meadow'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Ferdinand Hérold with a libretto by François-Antoine-Eugène de Planard based on Prosper Mérimée's ''Chronique du temps de Charles IX'' of 1829.Pougin A. H ...

'' (Mergy) and '' Le roi d'Ys'' (Mylio).Wolff S. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900-1950).'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953. He also sang in several premieres, notably '' Louise'' in 1900 (Julien) and ''

Grisélidis ''Grisélidis'' is an opera (described as a ' conte lyrique') in three acts and a prologue by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Armand Silvestre and Eugène Morand. It is based on the play by the same authors first performed at the Comédi ...

'' in 1901 (Alain), as well as enjoying a success in the Paris premiere of '' La Boheme'' (Rodolphe). At the

Opéra de Monte-Carlo The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Principality of Monaco. With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des ba ...

he created the role of Jean in '' Le jongleur de Notre Dame'' in 1902, and made his debut 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 ...

the same year as Don José, also appearing in ''Faust'', ''Manon'' and the première of ''The Princess Osra'' by Herbert Bunning (1863-193

. He retired back to Belgium in 1907, having made a handful of recordings. He died at

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, aged 67.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marechal, Adolphe 1867 births 1935 deaths Belgian operatic tenors Musicians from Liège