Marcel Merkès (7 July 1920 – 30 March 2007) was a 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 ...

operetta singer. Merkès was born in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. After receiving several prizes in singing at the Conservatoire de Bordeaux, he started at the age of 22 years at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux in the role of Des Grieux in ''

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 ...

'', an opera by

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...

. He often performed an operetta duo with his wife

Paulette Merval Paulette may refer to: *Paulette (name), French feminine given name *Paulette (tax) * Paulette Caveat - a caveat filed in 1973 by a group of Dene chiefs at the land titles office in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories to gain a legal interest in 40 ...

, a singer and violinist, who he had met at the Conservatoire de Bordeaux. They totaled more than 10,500 performances and recorded many records in their careers. He was a prolific performer at the

Théâtre Mogador Théâtre Mogador, founded in 1913 with design by Bertie Crewe, is a Parisian music hall theatre located at 25, rue de Mogador in the 9th district. It seats 1,800 people on three tiers. In 1913 financier Sir Alfred Butt rented an area in Paris. ...

in Paris. Merkès was married to violinist and singer

. Their son, Alain Merkès, also pursued a career as singer under the name Alain Valmer. Marcel died in Pessac.

Notable performances

Notable performances, debut of performance is given: *'' Rêve de Valse'' by Oscar Straus –

, Paris, 22 March 1947 *'' Imperial Violets'' by Vincent Scotto – Théâtre Mogador, Paris, 31 January 1948 *'' Annie du Far-West'' by Irving Berlin –

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a s ...

, Paris, 19 February 1950 *''

Rose-Marie ''Rose-Marie'' is an operetta-style musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stothart, and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The story is set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and concerns Rose-Marie La Flemme, a Fren ...

'' by Rudolf Friml – Théâtre de l'Empire, 12 May 1950 *'' La Veuve joyeuse'' by Franz Lehár – Théâtre Mogador, Paris, 17 November 1951 *'' Les Amants de Venise'' by Vincent Scotto – Théâtre Mogador, Paris, 5 December 1953 *'' Les amours de Don Juan'' by

Juan Morata ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...

– Théâtre Mogador, Paris, 23 December 1955 *'' Michel Strogoff'' by

Jack Ledru Jack Ledru (1922 – March 2013 Vienne chante et Danse Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...

and

Jack Ledru Jack Ledru (1922 – March 2013Douchka'' by

Georges Garvarentz Georges Diran Garvarentz ( hy, Ժորժ Տիրան Կառվարենց, 1 April 1932 - 19 March 1993) was an Armenian- French composer, noted for his music for films and Charles Aznavour's songs. Biography Georges Garvarentz was born in Athens, G ...

and Charles Aznavour – Théâtre Mogador, Paris, 4 October 1973 *''

Princesse Czardas Princesse (French 'princess') may refer to: *"Princesse", single hit for Julie Zenatti * Princesse (Nekfeu song) *La Princesse La Princesse is a 15-metre (50-foot) mechanical spider designed and operated by French performance art company La Ma ...

'' by Emmerich Kálmán, Avignon 1979–1982

Filmography

*'' Trois de la Canebière'' by

Maurice de Canonge Maurice de Canonge (March 18, 1894 – January 10, 1979) was a French actor and film director.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.222 He is also sometimes known by the name Maurice Cannon. Selected filmography Director * ''Inspector Grey'' (1936) * '' Captain ...

(1956) * '' Three Sailors'' by Maurice de Canonge (1957)

References

External links

Biography, photos
* 1920 births 2007 deaths Musicians from Bordeaux Conservatoire de Bordeaux alumni 20th-century French male opera singers French operatic tenors {{France-singer-stub