Jacques Jansen (né Toupin; born Paris, 22 November 1913 – 13 March 2002) was a French ''baryton-martin'' singer, particularly associated with the role of Pelléas in the opera by Debussy, but also active in operetta and on the concert platform, and later as a teacher.

Life and career

Jansen had a wide musical and artistic education; after studying the violin in Paris, he took lessons in

solfège In music, solfège (, ) or solfeggio (; ), also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, among many names, is a music education method used to teach aural skills, Pitch (music), pitch and sight-reading of Western classical music, Western music. Solfège is ...

and

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

at the conservatoire in

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

, where he also pursued courses in fine arts. Having taken vocal lessons with

Charles Panzéra Charles uguste LouisPanzéra (February 16, 1896 in Geneva – June 6, 1976 in Paris) was a Swiss operatic and concert baritone.''Piano ma non solo'', Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Anagramme Ed., 2012, Overview Panzéra's studies at the Paris Conser ...

, from 1938 he studied under

Claire Croiza Claire Croiza (14 September 1882 – 27 May 1946) was a French mezzo-soprano and an influential teacher of singers. Career Claire Croiza (née Conelly, or O'Connolly) was born in Paris, the daughter of an expatriate American father and an Italia ...

and Georges Viseur (solfège) 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 ...

. He also took classes with

René Simon René Simon (1898 in Troyes – 1971) was a French actor and founder in 1925 of the Cours Simon drama school in Paris. Notable alumni of Cours Simon include Benoît Petitjean and Jean Reno Jean Reno () (born 30 July 1948), is a French acto ...

and Louis Jouvet and won prizes which might have allowed him to follow a career in acting. In 1939 he sang the fountain scene (Act 2 scene 1) and the tower scene (Act 3 scene 1) of

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

's opera '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' with the

Orchestre National de France The Orchestre national de France (ONF; literal translation, ''National Orchestra of France'') is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France sinc ...

under Inghelbrecht, an experience which left him overwhelmed with joy.Dutronc, Jean-Louis. " Jacques Jansen : 30 ans de Pelléas ". In: Pelléas et Mélisande, Avant-Scene, Paris, 1977. He made his debut as Pelléas at the

Grand Théâtre de Genève Grand Théâtre de Genève is an opera house in Geneva, Switzerland. As with many other opera houses, the Grand Théâtre de Genève is both a venue and an institution. The venue is a majestic building, towering over Place Neuve, official ...

in 1941. After his Paris debut at 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 ...

as Pelléas on 20 April 1941, Jansen also appeared as a singer in Fauré's '' Masques et bergamasques'' (January 1942), Valérien in ''Malvina'' (July 1945) and the title role in ''Fragonard'' (February 1946).Wolff S. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900–1950)''. André Bonne, Paris, 1953. Jansen recorded Pelléas in an Opéra-Comique cast under the conductor

Roger Désormière Roger Désormière () (13 September 1898 – 25 October 1963) was a French conductor. He was an enthusiastic champion of contemporary composers, but also conducted performances of early eighteenth century French music. Life and career Désormièr ...

in April and May 1941 with

Irène Joachim Irène Joachim (13 March 1913 - 20 April 2001) was a French soprano, and later a vocal teacher. Early life Daughter of German officer Herman Joachim and French violinist Suzanne Chaigneau, and granddaughter of the violinist Joseph Joachim, she l ...

as Mélisande.Massin B. ''Les Joachim – Une famille de musiciens.'' Fayard, Paris, 1999. This recording is widely considered as a reference recording of this opera.Blyth A. Pelléas et Mélisande, in ''Opera, Thirty all-time great recordings''. ''

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

'', London, 2002. Jansen later recorded the same role under

André Cluytens André Cluytens (, ; born Augustin Zulma Alphonse Cluytens; 26 March 19053 June 1967)Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. was a Belgian-born French conductor who was active in the con ...

and Inghelbrecht. He also sang the role under Désormière with the Opéra-Comique company at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

in June 1949, as well as in New York, Brussels, Lisbon, Berlin, Milan, Rome and Tokyo. Having already appeared in three films, he was also considered for the role of popular singer Jacques Sartory in the 1945 crime drama film '' Seul dans la nuit'', before being passed over for Jacques Pills. His last performance was in

in March 1971. Although best remembered for the role of Pelléas he also sang

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

opera (''

Les Indes galantes (French: "The Amorous Indies") is an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Louis Fuzelier. It takes the form of an ''opéra-ballet'' with a prologue and (in its final form) four ''entrées'' (acts). Following an allegorical prologue, th ...

'' and ''

Platée ''Platée'' is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Adrien-Joseph Le Valois d'Orville. Rameau bought the rights to the libretto ''Platée ou Junon jalouse'' (''Plataea, or Juno Jealous'') by Jacques Autr ...

'' by

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of Fr ...

), modern opera (''

Christophe Colomb (''Christopher Columbus'') is an opera in two parts by the French composer Darius Milhaud. The poet Paul Claudel wrote the libretto based on his own play about the life of Christopher Columbus, ''Le Livre de Christophe Colomb''. The opera was fi ...

'' by

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

and ''

Les caprices de Marianne ''Les caprices de Marianne'' is a two-act opéra comique by Henri Sauguet with a French libretto by Jean-Pierre Gredy after Alfred de Musset. It was first performed at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 1954, with the Orchestre de la Société des C ...

'' at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in 1956),

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

(''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

'' by

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is ''The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life ...

, the premiere of ''La Belle de Paris'' by Georges Van Parys in 1961 and Antonin in ''

Ciboulette ''Ciboulette'' is a French opérette in three acts, music by Reynaldo Hahn, libretto by Robert de Flers and Francis de Croisset, first performed at the Théâtre des Variétés, in Paris, on 7 April 1923. One of the most elegant and refined compo ...

'' in Geneva) and

mélodie A ''mélodie'' () is a form of French art song, arising in the mid-19th century. It is comparable to the German ''Lied''. A ''chanson'', by contrast, is a folk or popular French song. The literal meaning of the word in the French language is "melod ...

s. Jansen was a magnetic interpreter of Danilo in ''The Merry Widow'', which he performed some 1,500 times in France, displaying his acting skills, which he also used in several films. He dubbed the singing voice of

Alain Cuny René Xavier Marie Alain Cuny (12 July 1908 – 16 May 1994) was a French actor of stage and screen. He was closely linked with the works of Paul Claudel and Antonin Artaud, and for his performances for the Théâtre national populaire and Od ...

in '' Les Visiteurs du Soir'' (1942).Obituary – Jacques Jansen. ''Opera'', June 2002, 680. He was for five years professor at the Conservatoire in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, then held a similar post at the Paris Conservatoire, finally teaching vocal technique at the Opéra-Studio.

Discography

Besides the three recordings of ''Pelléas et Mélisande'', Jansen's discography includes Frédéric in a complete ''

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 P ...

''. He recorded selections from '' Véronique'' with

Yvonne Printemps Yvonne Printemps (; born Yvonne Wigniolle; 25 July 1894 – 19 January 1977) was a French singer and actress who achieved stardom on stage and screen in France and internationally. Printemps went on the stage in Paris at the age of 12, and ...

in 1941, ''The Merry Widow'' in 1953, ''Ta bouche'' in 1956, and ''Fragonard'' in 1957. In 1952 he recorded a recital for Decca of Ravel, Debussy,

Chabrier Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (; 18 January 184113 September 1894) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and pianist. His Bourgeoisie, bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked ...

and Hahn (LXT2774) and songs by

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

, Jaubert, Beydts, and Françaix.In part from: AHRC Research Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music accessed 13 December 2010 website http://www.charm.kcl.ac.uk/index.html.

Filmography

* 1942 : ''Patricia'' by

Paul Mesnier Paul Mesnier (3 August 1904 in Saint-Étienne – 7 July 1988) was a French film director. He was married to the actress Andrée Servilanges. Filmography ;Director * 1937 : ''Le Chemin de lumière'' * 1938 : ''La Belle revanche'' * 1941 ...

* 1944 : ''La Malibran'' by Sacha Guitry * 1944 : ''Bonsoir mesdames, bonsoir messieurs'' by

Roland Tual Roland Tual (10 November 1902 – 29 August 1956) was a French director and producer. First married to Colette Jéramec, the daughter of a rich Parisian industrialist, Tual then married the producer and director Denise Piazza, also known under th ...

* 1949 : ''La Ronde des heures'' by

Alexandre Ryder Alexandre Ryder (1891–1966) was a Polish-born French film director best known for his crime drama films of the 1920s and 1930s. He directed some 20 films between 1920 and 1950. His 1940 film '' Après Mein Kampf mes crimes'' (''My Crimes aft ...

* 1972 : ''

Figaro-ci, Figaro-là ''Figaro-ci, Figaro-là'' is a 1972 French film directed by Hervé Bromberger. Cast * Jean-François Poron - Beaumarchais * Marie-Christine Barrault - Julie * Yves Rénier - Gudin * Isabelle Huppert - Pauline * Alexandre Rignault - Caron, le p ...

'' by

Hervé Bromberger Hervé Bromberger (11 November 1918 – 25 November 1993) was a French film director and screenwriter. He directed 16 films between 1951 and 1982. His 1951 film ''Paris Vice Squad'' was entered into the 1951 Cannes Film Festival. Selected ...

(TV)

References

External links

Obituary in French
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jansen, Jacques French operatic baritones 1913 births 2002 deaths Singers from Paris 20th-century French male opera singers