Arthur Endrèze (28 November 1893, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

– 15 April 1975, in Chicago) was an American

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 ...

singer who enjoyed a popular career in Paris and sang in many premieres.

Alain Pâris Alain Pâris (born 22 November 1947) is a French conductor and musicologist. Biography Born in Paris, Alain Pâris was trained as a pianist and has a law degree. He studied conducting with Pierre Dervaux, Paul Paray and Georg Solti and won the ...

. ''Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l'interprétation musicale au XX siècle.''

Éditions Robert Laffont Éditions Robert Laffont is a book publishing company in France founded in 1941 by Robert Laffont. Its publications are distributed in almost all francophone countries, but mainly in France, Canada and in Belgium. It is considered one of the most ...

, Paris, 1995 (p382). His voice was described as "warm, lyrical" and "well suited to the French repertory".

Biography

Born Arthur E Kraeckmann, he studied

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

, and sang for pleasure in his spare time. He came to the attention of the conductor

Walter Damrosch Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a German-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Ge ...

who advised him to go to France to improve his singing; he did so, enrolling at the American conservatoire at

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

where he studied under

Jean de Reszke Jean de Reszke (14 January 18503 April 1925) was a Polish tenor and opera star. Reszke came from a musically inclined family. His mother gave him his first singing lessons and provided a home that was a recognized music centre. His sister Josep ...

. Endrèze made his debut in 1925 in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

in the role of

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

, following this with

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

, and went on to sing in seasons at Deauville. In Paris he made his début on 4 October 1928 in '' Le roi d'Ys'' as Karnac, and sang roles in ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'' (Sharpless), ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'' (Orbel), ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'' (Scarpia), and the revival of ''Le rêve'' (Hautecœur) in 1939. His first appearance at the Opéra on 12 September 1929 was Valentin in '' Faust''. From 1930 until 1946 his roles included the High Priest in '' Samson et Dalila'', Nevers in ''

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work suc ...

'', Telramund in '' Lohengrin'', Kurwenal in '' Tristan und Isolde'', the title role in ''Rigoletto'', Iago in ''Otello'', Amonasro in ''Aida'', Athanaël in '' Thaïs'', Hérode in ''

Hérodiade ''Hérodiade'' is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Paul Milliet and Henri Grémont, based on the novella ''Hérodias'' (1877) by Gustave Flaubert. It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels o ...

'', the title role in ''Hamlet'', Capulet and Mercutio in '' Roméo et Juliette'', Pollux in ''

Castor et Pollux ''Castor et Pollux'' (''Castor and Pollux'') is an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau, first performed on 24 October 1737 by the Académie royale de musique at its theatre in the Palais-Royal in Paris. The librettist was Pierre-Joseph-Justin Bernard, ...

'' and Jacob in ''

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 mo ...

''.Chanteurs de l'Opéra de Paris
L'Art Lyrique website, accessed 13 January 2020. Endrèze created the title role in '' Guercoeur'' in 1931, the Conseiller Herzfeld in ''Maximilien'' ( Darius Milhaud) in 1932, Prince d'Antioche in ''

Un jardin sur l'Oronte ''Un jardin sur l'Oronte'' (''A Garden on the Orontes'') is a novel by Maurice Barrès, which was first published in 1922 by Plon-Nourrit. Barrès purportedly transcribed in it a story which an Irish archaeologist had translated to him from a man ...

'' in 1932, the Prince de Metternich in ''

L'Aiglon ''L'Aiglon'' is a play in six acts by Edmond Rostand based on the life of Napoleon II, who was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and his second wife, Empress Marie Louise. The title of the play comes from a nickname for Napoleon II, the French wor ...

'' in 1937 (Monte Carlo and Paris), and Comte Mosca in '' La Chartreuse de Parme'' in 1939. He married Jeanne Krieger-Beligne, Chef de chant at the Opéra. Arrested by the Germans in 1940 he managed to make his way back to the United States but returned to France after the war, and after retiring from the stage devoted himself to teaching.

Recordings

He sang Scarpia in the 1932 studio recording of extended excerpts from ''Tosca'' in French with forces of the Paris Opéra-Comique conducted by

Gustave Cloëz Gustave Cloëz (3 August 1890 – 15 March 1970)''Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014''. Social Security Administration. was a French conductor who was particularly active at the Paris Opéra-Comique in the mid-20th century, and made a significa ...

and with

Ninon Vallin Eugénie "Ninon" Vallin (8 September 1886 22 November 1961) was a French soprano who achieved considerable popularity in opera, operetta and classical song recitals during an international career that lasted for more than four decades. Career ...

in the title role, for Odéon. With the same conductor and company he sang Alfio in '' Cavalleria rusticana''. He also recorded individual arias and mélodies. A set described as comprising his 'complete' recordings was issued by Marston Records in 2013.WorldCat entry for The complete Arthur Endrèze
accessed 22 December 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Endreze, Arthur 1893 births 1975 deaths American operatic baritones 20th-century American male opera singers American emigrants to France