François Le Roux (born 30 October 1955) is a French baritone. Le Roux began vocal studies at 19 with François Loup, winning prizes in Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro. He was a member of the Lyon Opera Company from 1980 to 1985, before appearing in many international houses, making his

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

debut in 1988 as Valentin in

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 ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

''. He is most renowned for his portrayal of Pelléas in Debussy's opera, first singing the role in 1985 and being hailed by critics as "the greatest Pelléas of his generation". Since 1998 he has also sung Golaud in the same opera to similar acclaim. It was as Golaud he sang in the centenary performance at the Opéra-Comique, and also in the Russian national premiere. He voiced Gaston, the villainous hunter in the European French dub of Disney's "

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

. As well as a vast operatic repertory, he has released many recitals of French song, which have earned him the distinction as

Gérard Souzay Gérard Souzay (8 December 1918 – 17 August 2004) was a French baritone, regarded as one of the very finest interpreters of mélodie (French art song) in the generation after Charles Panzéra and Pierre Bernac. Background and education He wa ...

's natural successor. He is considered as "the great ambassador of French melody"». His book, ''Le chant intime'', on the interpretation of French song, won the 2004 René Dumesnil Award by the French National

Académie des Beaux Arts An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

. He has been awarded the grade of "

Chevalier Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...

" in the French National Order of Les Arts et Lettres in 1996, and chosen as "Musical Personality of the year 1997" by the French Critics Union.

References

External links

Official Homepage
1955 births Living people Musicians from Rennes French male singers French operatic baritones {{France-singer-stub