Charles-Henri Edmond Duvernoy (16 June 184412 January 1927) was a French pianist,

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

and vocal teacher, from a family of musicians.Fétis F-J. ''Biographie universelle des musiciens.'' Paris, 1878.

Life and career

Edmond Duvernoy was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He was taught initially by his father, Charles-François Duvernoy, then studied at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. A fine pianist, he began to teach, then studied singing, joining 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 ...

company. He made his stage debut as Mercutio in the first performance at the Opéra-Comique of

Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's '' Roméo et Juliette'' on 20 January 1873. He also sang Moralès in the premiere of

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...

's ''

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 Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' in 1875; Bizet composed three versions of the ''mélodrame'' in Act 1 for Duvernoy. According to Malherbe, he had a relatively soft voice, but he used it with good taste, and with sufficient talent to enable him to become later one of the most esteemed vocal teachers.Soubies A, Malherbe C. ''Histoire de l'opéra comique — La seconde salle Favart 1840–1887.'' Flammarion, Paris, 1893. He sang Ganymède in ''Galathée'' in 1873, alongside his future wife, Mlle Franck, a soprano of the Opéra-Comique. Duvernoy and his wife moved to the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1877. Both of them participated in the private 'premiere' of Offenbach's ''

Les contes d'Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died ...

'' on 18 May 1879, Duvernoy playing the piano.Wolff, Stéphane. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique 1900–1950.'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953. From October 1887 to 1910 Duvernoy was a singing professor at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, with many important artists among his pupils including the Finnish

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

Aino Ackté Aino Ackté (originally Achte; 24 April 18768 August 1944) was a Finnish soprano. She was the first international star of the Finnish opera scene after Alma Fohström, and a groundbreaker for the domestic field. Biography Ackté was born in ...

and

Hanna Granfelt Hanna Lilian Granfelt (2 June 1884 — 3 November 1952) was a Finnish operatic soprano and a leading singer of the early 20th century Finland, admired by the likes of Jean Sibelius and Richard Strauss. Early life and education Hanna Granfelt ...

. He also composed some songs. He died in Paris in 1927, aged 82. His brother was

Alphonse Duvernoy Victor-Alphonse Duvernoy (; 30 August 1842 – 7 March 1907) was a French pianist and composer. Life and career The son of noted bass-baritone Charles-François Duvernoy (1796–1872), Duvernoy was born in Paris and became a student of Antoine ...

, pianist and composer.

References

Sources

* ''Pierre Key's international music year book''. Pierre Key, New York 1928. * Brigitte Labat-Poussin, Jean Favier: ''Archives du theatre national de l'opera. Inventaire''. Archives Nationales, Paris 1977. {{DEFAULTSORT:Duvernoy, Edmond 1844 births 1927 deaths Conservatoire de Paris alumni Singers from Paris French operatic baritones 19th-century French male classical pianists Voice teachers Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Pupils of Antoine François Marmontel 19th-century French male opera singers