Pierre-François Wartel (born Versailles, 3 April 1806; died Paris 3 August 1882) was a French tenor and music educator. His wife was Thérèse Wartel, a talented pianist, and their son Émile was a bass who sang and created several operatic roles between 1857 and 1870 at the

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien). The company was founded in 1847 as the Opér ...

and later founded his own singing school."Wartel, Pierre François" in Sadie, Stanley, editor (1992). ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', vol. 4, p. 1109. London: Macmillan. .

Walsh TJ Thomas Joseph Walsh (20 November 1911 – 8 November 1988) was an Irish doctor, writer, and founder and director of the Wexford Opera Festival.Boydell, B.: "Walsh, T(homas) J(oseph)", in: '' New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' (London and New York: ...

. (1981). ''Second Empire Opera: The Théâtre-Lyrique, Paris 1851-1870''. London: John Calder. .

Biography

In 1825 François Wartel enrolled 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 ...

as a pupil of

Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera ''La Juive''. Early career Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...

, but soon thereafter began studies in Choron's Institut de la Musique Religieuse. After finishing his studies at Choron's Institute in 1828 he returned to the Conservatoire to pursue vocal studies with Banderali and Nourrit and obtained a first prize for singing in 1829. From 1831 to 1846 he played small tenor parts at the

Paris Opera 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 ...

, where he created the role of Francesco in Berlioz's '' Benvenuto Celini'' (10 September 1838) and roles in two operas by Donizetti, Néarque in ''

Les martyrs ''Les martyrs'' (''The Martyrs'') is a four-act grand opera by Gaetano Donizetti set to a French libretto by Eugène Scribe. The libretto was based on one written by Salvadore Cammarano for an original Italian version known as '' Poliuto'', whic ...

'' (10 April 1840) and Don Gaspar in ''

La favorite ''La favorite'' (''The Favourite'', sometimes referred to by its Italian title: ''La favorita'') is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play ''Le com ...

'' (2 December 1840).Ashbrook, William (1982). ''Donizetti and his Operas'', pp. 567, 570. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . He also played Ottokar in the Berlioz version of Carl Maria von Weber's ''

Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 181 ...

'' (7 June 1841). Along with Nourrit he advanced the appreciation of Schubert's lieder in France by performing them frequently in his recitals, travelled to Berlin, Prague, and Vienna to give concerts, and performed 16th-century music in the Concerts Historiques of

François-Joseph Fétis François-Joseph Fétis (; 25 March 1784 – 26 March 1871) was a Belgian musicologist, composer, teacher, and one of the most influential music critics of the 19th century. His enormous compilation of biographical data in the ''Biographie univer ...

(1831–1833).Kuhn, Laura, editor (1992). ''Baker's Dictionary of Opera'', p. 875. New York: Schirmer Books. . Wartel devoted himself mainly to teaching after 1842 and was thought among the best teachers of the time. His most well-known pupils included

Christine Nilsson Christina Nilsson, Countess de Casa Miranda, also called Christine Nilsson (20 August 1843 – 22 November 1921) was a Swedish dramatic coloratura soprano. Possessed of a pure and brilliant voice of first three then two and a half octaves tr ...

and Zelia Trebelli-Bettini.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wartel, Pierre Francois 1806 births 1882 deaths People from Versailles Conservatoire de Paris alumni French operatic tenors French music educators 19th-century French male singers