Marcel Auguste Antoine Cariven, (18 April 1894,

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

– 5 November 1979, Crosne near Paris)Bibliothèque nationale de France entry for Marcel Cariven
accessed 31 January 2015. was a French conductor, particularly associated with light music and with operetta. Alain Pâris: ''Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l'interprétation musicale au XXe 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 (p890).

Life and career

Cariven undertook musical studies firstly at the conservatoire in Toulouse, then in Paris, where he was a pupil of Xavier Leroux,

Paul Vidal Paul Antonin Vidal (16 June 1863 – 9 April 1931) was a French composer, conductor and music teacher mainly active in Paris.Charlton D. Paul Vidal. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. Life and caree ...

, and André Gedalge where he won first prizes in harmony, music history and composition. Having led the orchestra of several musical theatres in Paris, Cariven conducted one for the first time at the Théâtre de l'Apollo in '' La Veuve Joyeuse''. This was followed by many other lyric engagements, including the Bouffes-Parisiens, Marigny,

Mogador Essaouira ( ; ar, الصويرة, aṣ-Ṣawīra; shi, ⵜⴰⵚⵚⵓⵔⵜ, Taṣṣort, formerly ''Amegdul''), known until the 1960s as Mogador, is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It ha ...

and Gaîté-Lyrique. However, he was also active in symphonic music, ballet and film music and worked with composers such as

André Messager André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty opéra comique, opéras comiques, opérettes and other stage wo ...

Reynaldo Hahn Reynaldo Hahn (; 9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – '' mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100. Hahn was born in Caracas ...

Maurice Yvain Maurice Yvain (12 February 1891 – 27 July 1965) was a French composer noted for his operettas of the 1920s and 1930s. Some of which were written for Mistinguett, at one time the best-paid female entertainer in the world. In the 1930s and 1940s, ...

and Louis Beydts. During the 1930s at Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens he conducted ''Azor'', an opérette by Gaston Gabaroche in 1932, followed by ''La Pouponnière'' and ''Un soir de réveillon'' the same year, ''Ô mon bel inconnu'', a comédie musicale by Reynaldo Hahn in 1933 with

Arletty Léonie Marie Julie Bathiat (15 May 1898 – 23 July 1992), known professionally as Arletty, was a French actress, singer, and fashion model. As an actress she is particularly known for classics directed by Marcel Carné, including '' Hotel du N ...

and

Simone Simon Simone Thérèse Fernande Simon (23 April 1910 or 1911 – 22 February 2005) was a French film actress who began her film career in 1931. Early life Born in Marseille, France, she was the daughter of Henri Louis Firmin Clair Simon, a French J ...

among the cast, ''Toi c'est moi'' in 1934, and ''Trois valses'', an operetta with music from the Strauss family (Johann I, Johann II and Oscar) in 1937 in a production by

Pierre Fresnay Pierre Fresnay (4 April 1897 – 9 January 1975) was a French stage and film actor. Biography Born Pierre Jules Louis Laudenbach, he was encouraged by his uncle, actor Claude Garry, to pursue a career in theater and film. He joined the company a ...

, 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 ...

among the cast.’L'encyclopédie multimedia de la comédie musicale théâtrale en France (1918-1940)’ (http://194.254.96.55/cm/?for=fic&cletechni=1732), page for Cariven accessed 27.07.17. During the war years he conducted a revival of ''

Les cent vierges ''Les cent vierges'' (The Hundred Maidens) is an opérette in three acts, with music by Charles Lecocq and a libretto by Clairville (Louis-François Nicolaïe), Clairville, Henri Chivot and Alfred Duru. It was first produced at the Théâtre des ...

'' by Lecocq in September 1942 at the Apollo theatre in Paris.Marcel Cariven search in Les Archives du Spectacle.net
accessed 28 July 2017. Cariven made his debut at the Paris Opéra-Comique in December 1947 with '' Manon''.Wolff S. ''Un demi-siecle d'Opéra-Comique.'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953. From the 1950s to the early 1970s he was active at French Radio, conducting many operetta recordings some of which have subsequently been issued commercially. For one of his last performances, the Opera critic noted about Offenbach's '' La fille du tambour-major'' that "the veteran Marcel Cariven... may, like some other senior conductors, stagger to the rostrum, but once there he knows how to bring out all the lightness and gaiety of Offenbach's score, and the orchestra and cast headed by Dominique Tirmont and some of the best Offenbach singers in France - Michael Pieri, Florence Raynal,

Jean-Christophe Benoît Jean-Christophe Benoît (18 March 1925 – 21 February 2019) was a French baritone, who enjoyed a long career in France and francophone countries on the stage, the concert platform and radio and television. He was born in Paris into a professiona ...

, Bernard Plantey - so obviously enjoy working with him”.

Recordings

Cariven made several recordings in the 1930s and 40s, and later for French radio: Hahn - ''Beaucoup de bruit pour rien'' 'musique de scène' (1936, Voix de son maître)
Schubert songs (Ständchen, Die Forelle and others) with the tenor

Georges Thill Georges Thill (14 December 1897 – 17 October 1984) was a French opera singer, often considered to be his country's greatest lyric-dramatic tenor. Born in Paris, his career lasted from 1924 to 1953, peaking during the 1930s. Career A pupil of ...

(1935, Columbia)
Pierné - ''Fragonard'' - two excerpts (1943, Pathé)
Donizetti - ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's ...

'' - excerpts, with

Vina Bovy Vina Bovy (Malvina Bovi Van Overberghe) born Ghent 22 May 1900, died in the same city 16 May 1983 was a Belgian operatic soprano. Rosenthal H., "Vina Bovy". In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, London & New York, 1997. She studied ...

and

Luis Mariano Luis Mariano Eusebio González García (13 August 1914 – 14 July 1970), also known as Luis Mariano, was a popular tenor of Spanish origin who achieved celebrity in 1946 with "La belle de Cadix" ("The Beautiful Lady of Cadix") an operetta by ...

(1944 Voix de son maître)
Adam - ''

Si j'étais roi ''Si j'étais roi'' (English: ''If I Were King'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Adolphe Adam. The libretto was written by Adolphe d'Ennery and Jules-Henri Brésil. It was first performed in Paris at the Théâtre Lyrique (Théâtre-Hist ...

'' - Overture, with

Orchestre Lamoureux The Orchestre Lamoureux () officially known as the Société des Nouveaux-Concerts and also known as the Concerts Lamoureux) is an orchestral concert society which once gave weekly concerts by its own orchestra, founded in Paris by Charles Lamoureu ...

(1947, Pathé)
Planquette - ''

Les Cloches de Corneville ''Les cloches de Corneville'' (''The Bells of Corneville'', sometimes known in English as ''The Chimes of Normandy'') is an opéra-comique in three acts, composed by Robert Planquette to a libretto by Louis Clairville and Charles Gabet. The st ...

'' with Orchestre Lamoureux (1947, Pathé)
Waldteufel - various waltzes (1943, 1945, 1947, Pathé)
Audran - ''Le Grand Mogol'' - excerpts with the Orchestre Lamoureux (1948, Pathé)
Offenbach - ''

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 ...

'' - excerpts with the Orchestre Lamoureux (1948, Pathé)
Hahn - '' Ciboulette'' with l'

Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire The Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire was a symphony orchestra established in Paris in 1828. It gave its first concert on 9 March 1828 with music by Beethoven, Rossini, Meifreid, Rode and Cherubini. Administered by the philh ...

(1952, Pathé)
Christiné - '' Phi-Phi'' - selection (1952, Pathé)
Hervé - ''

Mam'zelle Nitouche ''Mam'zelle Nitouche'' is a vaudeville-opérette in three acts by Hervé. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Albert Millaud. This story of a respectable musician, transforming himself into a songwriter at night, is partly inspired by the lif ...

'' - selection (1953, Pathé)
Varney - '' Les Mousquetaires au couvent'' (1953, Pathé)
Hervé - ''Le Retour d'Ulysse'' and ''Trombolino'', with

Jean Giraudeau Jean Giraudeau (1 July 1916, in Toulon – 7 February 1995), was an artist and French tenor,Obituary: Jean Giraudeau. ''Opera (British magazine), Opera'', June 1995, Vol.46, No.6, p671. and later theatre director, particularly associated with th ...

and

Denise Duval Denise Duval (23 October 192125 January 2016) was a French soprano, best known for her performances in the works of Francis Poulenc on stage and in recital. During an international career, Duval created the roles of Thérèse in '' Les mamelles de ...

(1956, Gaieté Lyrique)
Lehár - '' Le Pays des Sourires'' (1956, Pathé)
Offenbach - '' La Vie parisienne'' (1956, Philips)
Lehár - ''Frasquita'' (1956, Véga)
Scotto - ''Violettes impériales'' (1961, Véga)
Lecocq - "Ali Baba" (1961, Classical Moments)
Offenbach - '' La Créole'' (1969, Bourg)
recordings on file in which the conductor is Marcel Cariven at Operadis
accessed 27 July 2017.Discographical data from 'Cariven' search in The CHARM Discography, Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music, , accessed 12 July 2017.

References

External links

Marcel Cariven
on data.bnf.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Cariven, Marcel 1894 births French classical musicians French male conductors (music) 1979 deaths Musicians from Toulouse 20th-century French conductors (music) 20th-century French male musicians