Guy Chauvet (2 October 1933 – 25 March 2007) was a French operatic singer in the

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, 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 lo ...

Biography

Born in

Montluçon Montluçon (; oc, Montleçon ) is a commune in central France on the river Cher. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's prefecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as ...

Allier Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...

, Chauvet discovered his voice at the age of sixteen during a local party. At

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

in 1954, he was the youngest member of the tenor competition and one of five prizewinners, with

Alain Vanzo Alain Vanzo (April 2, 1928 – January 27, 2002) was a French opera singer and composer, one of few French tenors of international standing in the postwar era. He, along with such singers as Henri Legay and the Canadian Léopold Simoneau, represen ...

, Tony Poncet, Roger Gardes and Gustave Botiaux. He started at the

Palais Garnier The Palais Garnier (, Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (, Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from ...

as an Armored Man in ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

'' on 12 January 1959. To begin with, he held third roles in '' Aida'' with

Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, San Carlo and, especially, the Metropolitan Opera. O ...

and

Rita Gorr Rita Gorr (18 February 1926 – 22 January 2012) was a Belgian operatic mezzo-soprano. She possessed a large, rich-toned voice and was an intense singing-actress, especially in dramatic roles such as Ortrud (''Lohengrin'') and Amneris (''Aida'') ...

and also in '' Samson et Dalila'' with Mario Del Monaco. He became the youngest tenor of 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 ...

in the role of Faust in '' La Damnation de Faust'' on 20 September 1959. He has the same singing teachers as

Georges Thill Georges Thill (14 December 1897 – 17 October 1984) was a French opera singer, often considered to be his country's greatest lyric-dramatic tenor. Born in Paris, his career lasted from 1924 to 1953, peaking during the 1930s. Career A pupil of ...

. His career as a strong tenor was thwarted by his teachers, and he only acquired his C at the age of 32.

Régine Crespin Régine Crespin (23 February 1927 – 5 July 2007) was a French singer who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto soprano ...

choose him as Énée; he next sang Arturo with

Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. She possessed ...

Lucia Lucia may refer to: Arts and culture * ''Lucía'', a 1968 Cuban film by Humberto Solás * ''Lucia'' (film), a 2013 Kannada-language film * '' Lucia & The Best Boys'', a Scottish indie rock band formerly known as ''LUCIA'' * "Lucia", a Swedish c ...

. He triumphed by interpreting Florestan and also sang in the world premiere of

Jean-Jacques Grunenwald Jean-Jacques Charles Grunenwald, also known by his pseudonym Jean Dalve (2 February 1911 – 19 December 1982), was a French organist, composer, architect, and pedagogue. Life and work Grunenwald was born in 1911 in Cran-Gevrier, Haute-Savoie. ...

's ''Sardanapale'', produced at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 25 April 1961."''Sardanapale'' : tragédie lyrique en 3 acte"
Notice de spectacle, BnF Catalogue général. Régine Crespin,

Fiorenza Cossotto Fiorenza Cossotto (born 22 April 1935) is an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano. Life and career Born on 22 April 1935, in Crescentino, Province of Vercelli, Italy, Cossotto attended the Turin Academy of Music and studied with Mercedes Llopart. She ...

(with whom he sang '' Samson and Delilah''), Gabriel Bacquier and Jon Vickers all worked with him, and he regarded

Andréa Guiot Andréa Guiot (11 January 1928 – 15 February 2021) was a French operatic soprano. A long-term member of the Paris opera houses, she was known internationally for leading roles especially in the French repertoire, such as Gounod's Mireille and ...

as a sister. After a performance of ''Samson and Delilah'' at the

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

, he obtained a standing ovation from the audience. When

Placido Domingo Placido may refer to: People Surname *José Plácido de Castro (1873–1908), Brazilian soldier and politician *Michele Placido, (born 1946) Italian actor and director * Plácido Vega y Daza, (1830-1878) 19th century Mexican general and politician ...

sang his first ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...

'' in Paris, Chauvet was dressed and ready in case it was required he intervene. He was the only French tenor to have sung '' Aida'' in

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

, alternating the role of Radames with Carlo Bergonzi, in August 1971 during the centenary of the opera's creation. He was part of the revival of Meyerbeer's '' Le prophète'' with Marilyn Horne at the Metropolitan in 1977. Guy Chauvet distinguished himself above all by the power of his emission, the timbre remaining clear and coppery throughout the whole range. He specialized in wide-ranging roles such as Faust of ''la damnation'', Samson,

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

, Otello, Radamès, Enée, Siegmund, Lohengrin, around the world and above all in performances with the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He was also the advocate of such little known operas as Cherubini's ''

Les Abencérages (English: ''The Abencerrages, or The standard of Granada'') is an opera in three acts by Luigi Cherubini with a French libretto by Etienne de Jouy, based on the novel ''Gonzalve de Cordoue'' by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian. It was first perfor ...

''.

References

External links

Guy Chauvet, le dernier Enée français
on Forum opera
Hommage à Guy Chauvet
on ODB.Opéra
Guy Chauvet
on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Guy Chauvet "Nessun dorma" TURANDOT / G.Puccini
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Chauvet, Guy French operatic tenors 1933 births 2007 deaths People from Montluçon Recipients of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 20th-century French male opera singers