Huguette Tourangeau, (August 12, 1938 – April 21, 2018) was a French-Canadian operatic mezzo-soprano, particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories.

Life and career

Huguette Tourangeau was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and graduated in pedagogy and piano from the Montreal Marguerite-Bourgeoys College, before entering the

Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (CMQM) is a music conservatory located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In addition to the Montreal region, the school takes in students from nearby cities, including Granby, Joliette, St-Jean, S ...

in 1958, where she was a pupil of Ruzena Herlinger (voice), Otto-Werner Mueller (repertory) and Roy Royal (declamation). In 1962, she was a soloist in

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is consider ...

's ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'', in Montreal. She made her operatic debut as Mercédès in ''Carmen'', under

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the fou ...

, in 1964, also in Montreal. In 1964 Tourangeau won the

Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition (formerly the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions) is an annual singing competition sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera. Established in 1954, its purpose is to discover, assist ...

. The same year, she sang Cherubino in '' The Marriage of Figaro'' at the Stratford Festival under Richard Bonynge. During the 1965–66 season, she appeared as Carmen in fifty-six cities throughout North America with the

Metropolitan Opera National Company The Metropolitan Opera National Company (MONC) was a short lived American opera company that operated from 1965 to 1967 as a second touring company of the Metropolitan Opera that featured American and Canadian artists in their early stages of career ...

. Around that time, she began a partnership with Dame Joan Sutherland and Bonynge, both on stage and on record. She was heard in Seattle as Malika in ''

Lakmé ''Lakmé'' is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the Opéra-Comique at the (second) Salle Favart in ...

''; London as Urbain 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 by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history ...

''; and San Francisco as Elisabetta in ''

Maria Stuarda ''Maria Stuarda'' (Mary Stuart) is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica''), in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Andrea Maffei's translation of Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play '' Maria Stuart''. The ope ...

'', Adalgisa in ''

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy *Norma (constellation) *555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, Lazi ...

'', Parséīs in Esclarmonde, and Prince Orlofsky in ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original li ...

''. In 1967 and 1968, Tourangeau appeared with the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

, as Carmen. She made her formal

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

debut on November 28, 1973, as Nicklausse in ''

The Tales of 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 i ...

'' (with

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

in the name part), and later sang Dorabella in '' Così fan tutte'' (1975–76), Cherubino in ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (opposite

Justino Díaz Justino Díaz (born January 29, 1940) is a Puerto Rican operatic bass-baritone. In 1963, Díaz won an annual contest held at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, becoming the first Puerto Rican to obtain such an honor and as a consequence, made ...

and

Judith Blegen Judith Blegen (April 27, 1943, Lexington, Kentucky) is an American soprano, particularly associated with light lyric roles of the French, Italian and German repertories. Life and career Blegen was raised and attended high school in Missoula, Mon ...

, 1976) and Parséïs in ''

Esclarmonde ''Esclarmonde'' () is an opéra (french: opéra romanesque) in four acts and eight tableaux, with prologue and epilogue, by Jules Massenet, to a French libretto by Alfred Blau and Louis Ferdinand de Gramont. It was first performed at the Ex ...

'' (opposite Sutherland, 1976). Tourangeau appears in Christopher Nupen's 1973 film ''Carmen: the Dream and the Destiny'', which documents a production of ''Carmen'' at the Hamburg State Opera (directed by

Regina Resnik Regina Resnik (born Regina Resnick, August 30, 1922 – August 8, 2013) was an American opera singer who had an active international career that spanned five decades. She began her career as a soprano in 1942 and soon after began a lengthy and ...

) in which Plácido Domingo plays Don José to her Carmen. In 1978, she was seen in the Met's televised performance of ''Don Giovanni'', as Zerlina, which was her final role at that theatre. She last appeared in a staged opera in Lyon in 1980, in ''Werther''. Other notable roles included Bertarido in '' Rodelinda'', at the

Holland Festival The Holland Festival () is the oldest and largest performing arts festival in the Netherlands. It takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theatre, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts, film and archit ...

; in ''

Semiramide ''Semiramide'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy ''Semiramis'', which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Assyria. The opera was first performed at La Feni ...

'' (as Arsace), ''

Mignon ''Mignon'' is an 1866 ''opéra comique'' (or opera in its second version) in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's 1795-96 novel '' Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre''. ...

'' (as Mignon), and ''

Le roi de Lahore ''Le roi de Lahore'' ("The king of Lahore") is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Gallet. It was first performed at the Palais Garnier in Paris on 27 April 1877 in costumes designed by Eugène Lacoste and se ...

'' (as Kaled), at the

Vancouver Opera Vancouver Opera is the second largest performing arts organization in British Columbia and the largest opera company in western Canada. Its mainstage performances occur in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, other venues in Vancouver and occasionally els ...

; and ''

La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein ''La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein'' (''The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein'') is an opéra bouffe (a form of operetta), in three acts and four tableaux by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The s ...

'', at the

Santa Fe Opera Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby, oversaw the building of the first opera house on a newl ...

Legacy

In 1977, Tourangeau became the first recipient of the "Canadian Music Council" artist of the year, and was appointed a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

in July 1997. Her husband, Barry Thompson (who died in 2009), was manager of the

(1975–78) and of the Edmonton Opera Association.

Death

Tourangeau died on April 21, 2018, aged 79.

Recordings

Tourangeau sings in many recordings on Decca Records opposite Sutherland: ''Les Huguenots'' (1969), ''Messiah'' (1970), ''Rigoletto'' (1971), ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' (1971), ''Les contes d'Hoffmann'' (1971), ''Maria Stuarda'' (1975), ''L'oracolo'' (with

Tito Gobbi Tito Gobbi (24 October 19135 March 1984) was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation. He made his operatic debut in Gubbio in 1935 as Count Rodolfo in Bellini's '' La sonnambula'' and quickly appeared in Italy's major oper ...

, 1975), ''Esclarmonde'' (1975), ''

'' (with

Luis Lima Luis Lima (born 12 September 1948 in Córdoba, Argentina) is an Argentine operatic tenor, who studied in Buenos Aires under Carlos Guichandut and in Sicily under Gina Cigna. He made his opera debut in 1974, in Lisbon, in ''Cavalleria rusticana ...

, 1979), and ''Rodelinda'' (as Unulfo, 1985). She also recorded ''Thérèse'' (with

Louis Quilico Louis Quilico, (January 14, 1925 – July 15, 2000) was a Canadian opera singer. One of the leading dramatic baritones of his day, he was an ideal interpreter of the great Italian and French composers, especially Giuseppe Verdi. He was ofte ...

, 1974) and ''

El amor brujo ''El amor brujo'' (, "The sorcerer love") is a ballet by Manuel de Falla to a libretto by María de la O Lejárraga García, although for years it was attributed to her husband Gregorio Martínez Sierra. It exists in three versions as well as a p ...

'' (with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, 1981) and made two recital discs: "Arias from Forgotten Operas" (1970) and art songs by

Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884) ...

(with Bonynge at the piano, 1975).

Videography

* Delibes: ''Lakmé'' (Sutherland; Bonynge, Ayrton, 1976) iveKultur

References

: 5
Huguette Tourangeau Has Died
Limelight Magazine, by Justine Nguyen on April 27, 2018

Sources

* ''The Canadian Music Encyclopedia'', Gilles Potvin.

External links

On Huguette Tourangeau at ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''
* .
Signed photo, dedicated to her goddaughter, Lorraine Hétu Manifold
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tourangeau, Huguette 1938 births 2018 deaths French Quebecers Canadian mezzo-sopranos 20th-century Canadian women opera singers Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal alumni Members of the Order of Canada Operatic mezzo-sopranos Singers from Montreal Winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions