Joseph Rogatchewsky (20 November 1891 – 31 March 1985) was a Russian Empire-born operatic

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 ...

. Born in

Mirgorod Myrhorod ( uk, Ми́ргород, ) is a city in the Poltava Oblast (province) of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Myrhorod Raion (district), the city itself is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast s ...

(Ukraine), he came to Paris shortly before the First World War and volunteered in the French army. He then entered the

Conservatoire de Paris 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 ...

and obtained a first prize in singing and opera. 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 ...

hired him in 1922 and two years later

Maurice Corneil de Thoran Maurice Corneil de Thoran ( Liège, 15 January 1881-Brussels, 6 January 1953), son of Paul Ernest de Thoran, was a Belgian musician. Life After having been a pianist-accompanist in 1902 and a conductor in France France (), officiall ...

invited him to Brussels, at

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 ...

to sing the title role in ''

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''The S ...

'', which made him famous. The major institutions invited him: the

Wiener Staatsoper The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

, the

Opéra 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 ...

, the

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...

of Amsterdam, the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the De ...

opened up to him, but he preferred to stay at the Théâtre de la Monnaie and settle permanently in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. In 1944, he sang José in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' at

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 ...

opposite

Jennie Tourel Jennie Tourel (November 23, 1973) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano, known for her work in both opera and recital performances. Early years Tourel was born in Vitebsk in the Russian Empire (now in Belarus), with the surname Davidovich. As ...

. He played many roles, the most important of which were in ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1 ...

'', ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival'' ...

'' and ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in Germany, German Arthurian literature. The son of Percival, Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which fi ...

''. However, it is mainly in French opera that he had his greatest successes. Upon the death of Maurice Corneil de Thoran in January 1953, he was called upon to direct the Théâtre of La Monnaie, a position he held until 1959, giving way to

Maurice Huisman Maurice Huisman (1912 – 23 July 1993) was a Belgian Opera director. Life Born in Brussels, a chemist by training, he and his brother Jacques were involved in the founding of the Comédiens routiers, the precursors of the established in 1945. ...

. He then was a singing instructor at the .

References

External links

Joseph Rogatchewsky; ''Vainement, ma bien aimée''; Le Roy d'Ys; Édouard Lalo
YouTube
Discography
*
Joseph Rogatchewsky
on historyofthetenor.com

on Forgotten Opera Singers {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogatchewsky 1891 births 1985 deaths Conservatoire de Paris alumni Expatriates from the Russian Empire in France Tenors from the Russian Empire Soviet male opera singers Opera managers Directors of La Monnaie Music educators from the Russian Empire People from Myrhorod 20th-century Russian male opera singers