Joseph-Théodore-Désiré Barbot, born in Toulouse on 12 April 1824, died in Paris on 1 January 1879, was a French operatic tenor. He is most notable for creating the title role in Charles Gounod's opera " Faust".

Training and career

Joseph-Théodore-Désiré Barbot began his musical training at the Toulouse Cathedral and at first studied the violin. He moved to Paris and entered the Paris Conservatoire, intending to study composition and the violin, but on the advice of his professor, switched to studying voice with Manuel Garcia the younger. He won first prize in singing at the Conservatoire in 1847, and made his debut 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 ...

in the leading tenor role in

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

's '' Le Comte Ory'' in that year. He went on to sing leading tenor roles at the Paris Opera in works including '' La dame blanche'' of Boieldieu, '' Le chalet'' by Adolphe Adam, and ''

La Juive ''La Juive'' () (''The Jewess'') is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra, Paris, on 23 February 1835. Composition history ''La Juive'' was one of t ...

'' by Halévy. When his singing teacher at the Paris Conservatoire, Manuel Garcia, relocated to London, Barbot replaced him there. Among his pupils was soprano Caroline Douvry, whom he married. They subsequently sang together for three years in leading roles at the

Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (french: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, italic=no, ; nl, Koninklijke Muntschouwburg, italic=no; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National O ...

in Brussels. In 1859, Barbot replaced the originally scheduled tenor, Hector Gruyer, in the title role in the world premiere of Gounod's ''Faust'' at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and achieved a great success. Joseph-Théodore-Désiré Barbot was praised for his vocal range, his ability to spin beautiful high notes softly, his charm onstage, and his musical tastefulness. Successful in Italian operas as well as French, he and his wife Caroline enjoyed international careers, sometimes appearing together, at leading opera houses in France, England, Italy and Russia (where Caroline created the leading soprano role of Leonora in Verdi's ''

La Forza del Destino ' (; ''The Power of Fate'', often translated ''The Force of Destiny'') is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, ' (1835), by Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas, wi ...

'' in 1862). When Pauline Viardot retired as professor of singing at the Paris Conservatoire in 1875, he replaced her, and continued to teach singing there until his death.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbot, Joseph-Théodore-Désiré Conservatoire de Paris alumni 1824 births 1879 deaths French operatic tenors 19th-century French male opera singers