Jean Giraudeau (1 July 1916, in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

– 7 February 1995), was an artist and French

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 ...

,Obituary: Jean Giraudeau. ''

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 ...

'', June 1995, Vol.46, No.6, p671. and later theatre director, particularly associated with 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 ...

in Paris, and described in Grove as having a “lyrical voice” as well as being “a superb character actor”. Forbes E. Jean Giraudeau. In: '' The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London & New York, 1997. He left a wide selection of recordings from both his operatic and concert repertoire, and created roles in several contemporary operas.

Life and career

Giraudeau's parents were both teachers at the conservatoire in Toulon.

Alain Pâris Alain Pâris (born 22 November 1947) is a French conductor and musicologist. Biography Born in Paris, Alain Pâris was trained as a pianist and has a law degree. He studied conducting with Pierre Dervaux, Paul Paray and Georg Solti and won the ...

. ''Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l'interpretation musicale au XX siècle.''

Éditions Robert Laffont Éditions Robert Laffont is a book publishing company in France founded in 1941 by Robert Laffont. Its publications are distributed in almost all francophone countries, but mainly in France, Canada and in Belgium. It is considered one of the most ...

, Paris, 1995 . After obtaining a degree in law, Giraudeau studied music, winning prizes in song, opera and cello in 1941. His stage debut was at the Opéra de Montpellier in 1942 (Wilhelm Meister) in '' Mignon''. He took part in the premiere of ''Martine'' by

Henri Rabaud Henri Benjamin Rabaud (10 November 187311 September 1949) was a French conductor, composer and pedagogue, who held important posts in the French musical establishment and upheld mainly conservative trends in French music in the first half of t ...

at the

Strasbourg Opera House The Strasbourg Opera House (), located on Place Broglie on the Grande Île in the city center of Strasbourg, in the French department of the Bas-Rhin, is the main seat and mother house of the opera company Opéra national du Rhin. It has been cla ...

before joining the main opera companies in Paris. Having sung in a pioneering BBC broadcast of ''Les Troyens'' recorded in May and June 1947, Giraudeau made his debut at the

on 23 July that year as Nadir in ''

Les pêcheurs de perles ' (''The Pearl Fishers'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances in ...

'', going on to create roles in ''Il était un petit navire'' by

Germaine Tailleferre Germaine Tailleferre (; born Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse; 19 April 18927 November 1983) was a French composer and the only female member of the group of composers known as ''Les Six''. Biography Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse was born at Sai ...

in 1951 (Valentin) and in ''Marion, ou la Belle au tricorne'' by

Pierre Wissmer Pierre Wissmer (30 October 1915 – 4 November 1992) was a 20th-century French classical composer of Swiss origin. Biography Formed at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, he received the advice of Robert Casadesus before perfecting his ma ...

in 1951 (Fabrice).Wolff, Stéphane. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique 1900–1950.'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953. At the Opéra-Comique Giraudeau also sang in '' Madame Bovary'' by Emmanuel Bondeville (Charles Bovary), ''

Blaise le savetier ''Blaise le savetier'' (''Blaise the Cobbler'') is a 1759 one-act ''opéra comique'', by the French composer François-André Danican Philidor. The libretto was by Michel-Jean Sedaine, after a story by Jean de La Fontaine entitled ''Conte d'une ch ...

'' by

Philidor Philidor (''Filidor'') or Danican Philidor was a family of musicians that served as court musicians to the French kings. The original name of the family was Danican (D'Anican) and was of Scottish origin (Duncan). Philidor was a later addition to t ...

(Blaise), '' Ariane à Naxos'' (Bacchus), '' Lakmé'' (Gérald), '' Le Barbier de Séville'' (Almaviva), ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

'' (Ferrando), ''

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 ...

'' (Valère), ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was first ...

'' (Des Grieux), ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'' (Pinkerton) ''

Les Mamelles de Tirésias ''Les Mamelles de Tirésias'' (''The Breasts of Tiresias'') is an ''opéra bouffe'' by Francis Poulenc, in a prologue and two acts based on the eponymous play by Guillaume Apollinaire. The opera was written in 1945 and first performed in 1947. Apo ...

'' (le Mari) and ''

L'Heure espagnole ''L'heure espagnole'' is a French one-act opera from 1911, described as a ''comédie musicale'', with music by Maurice Ravel to a French libretto by Franc-Nohain, based on Franc-Nohain's 1904 play ('comédie-bouffe') of the same nameStoullig E. '' ...

'' (Gonzalve). 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 ...

he made his first appearance two weeks after his Salle Favart, debut playing Tamino in ''

La Flûte enchantée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on Figure 8 ( ...

'', following this with David in '' Die Meistersinger'', Alfredo in ''

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'', and created Nicador in ''Bolivar'', and sang the Chevalier de la Force in the French premiere of ''

Dialogues des carmélites ' (''Dialogues of the Carmelites''), FP 159, is an opera in three acts, divided into twelve scenes with linking orchestral interludes, with music and libretto by Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 196 ...

''. Appearances outside France included Lensky in Eugene Onegin at the Bolshoy. Giraudeau sang Du Bartas in the premiere of the comédie lyrique ''Colombe'' by

Jean-Michel Damase Jean-Michel Damase (27 January 1928 – 21 April 2013) was a French pianist, conductor and composer of classical music. Career Damase was born in Bordeaux, the son of harpist Micheline Kahn. He was studying with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau at the a ...

and Jean Anouilh in Bordeaux on 5 May 1961, sang in the premiere of

Marcel Landowski Marcel François Paul Landowski (18 February 1915 – 23 December 1999) was a French composer, biographer and arts administrator. Biography Born at Pont-l'Abbé, Finistère, Brittany, he was the son of French sculptor Paul Landowski and gre ...

's ''L'Opéra de Poussière'', the first 'world premiere' in the history of the Avignon Opera in 1962, and also created roles in operas by Claude Prey; Lui in ''Le cœur révélateur ou Les voliges'' in 1964, and ''L’homme occis ou Un tunnel sous le Mont-Blanc'' in 1975 (concert) and 1975 (stage). Having been appointed as the head of vocal department in 1964, he became Director of the

from 1968 to 1972, and commenced a policy of introducing more 20th-century works into the company repertoire, until, powerless and desperate, he saw the dissolution of its troupe. Optimistic and affable, he later taught and directed and left a varied list of recordings both in the studio and from his many radio appearances.

Discography

* Beethoven: Songs -

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

* Berlioz: L'Enfance du Christ, op. 25 (solos) -

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...

* Berlioz: Requiem (soloist) -

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

XWN 2227 * Berlioz: ''

Les Troyens ''Les Troyens'' (; in English: ''The Trojans'') is a French grand opera in five acts by Hector Berlioz. The libretto was written by Berlioz himself from Virgil's epic poem the ''Aeneid''; the score was composed between 1856 and 1858. ''Les Tro ...

'' (Enée) - BBC-SOMM-BEECHAM 26-8 * Bernier: Confitebor tibi Domine - Pathé DTX 158 * Bondeville: ''L'École des maris'' (Valère) - Decca * Campra: Psaume LIII "Deus in nomine tuo" - Pathé DTX 270 * Charpentier: Lamentations pour les obsèques de la Reine Marie-Thérèse, H. 331 - Pathé DTX 270 * Charpentier: De Profundis (Tome XX des "Meslanges"), H. 189 - Pathé DTX 158 * Charpentier: Le Reniement de Saint Pierre, motet, H. 424, - Pathé DTX 259 * Charpentier: Miserere des Jésuites (Psaume L), H. 193 - Pathé DTX 228 * Escher: Univers de Rimbaud (solo) - Olympia OCD 506 * Gervais: Exaudiat Te (Psaume XIX) - Pathé DTX 228 * Gervais: Te Deum - Pathé DTX 259 * Hervé: ''Le Retour d'Ulysse'' (Ulysse) - Gaieté Lyrique 20221-2 * Hervé: ''Trombolino'' (Cantarini) - Gaieté Lyrique 20221-2 * Jolivet: Suite liturgique (solo) - Véga * Lehár: ''Paganini'' (title role) - Accord 4728682 * Massenet: ''Thaïs'' (Nicias) - Urania * Milhaud: ''Le pauvre matelot'' (sailor) - Disques Véga * Milhaud: ''Christophe Colomb'' (Majordomo) - TCE 8750 * Mozart: Kyrie in F major, K. 33 (solo) - Pathé * Offenbach: ''La belle Hélène'' (Ménélas) - Philips * Offenbach: ''Geneviève de Brabant'' (Sifroy) - INA Mémoire Vive 080 * Poulenc: '' Mamelles de Tirésias'' (Le mari) - Columbia * Ravel: ''L'heure espagnole'' (Gonzalve for Cluytens, VSM in 1953; Torquemada for Maazel, DG in 1965) * Rimsky-Korsakov: ''Snegurochka'' (Tsar Berendey) - Ponto * Stravinsky: Renard (solo) - Adès * Stravinsky: ''

Le Rossignol , description = ''conte lyrique'' , librettist = , based_on = , premiere_date = , premiere_location = Palais Garnier, Paris ''The Nightingale'' (Russian: Соловей – ''Solovyei''; French: ''Le Rossignol'') ...

'' (Fisherman) - Columbia * Christmas at Notre-Dame (carols) - Concert Hall BM 2171Incorporates material from the CHARM Discography, Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music, , accessed 12 January 2011.

References

''This article contains material adapted from the French Wikipedia page'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Giraudeau, Jean 1916 births 1995 deaths French operatic tenors French opera directors Musicians from Toulon 20th-century French male opera singers