Michel Sénéchal

Michel Sénéchal (11 February 1927 – 1 April 2018) was a French tenor, particularly associated with French and Italian character roles in a repertory ranging from Baroque to contemporary works.

Life and career

Michel Sénéchal was born in Paris and sang as a child in a church choir in Taverny.Alain Pâris, ''Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l'interpretation musicale au XX siècle''. Éditions Robert Laffont, Paris, 1995, p869-870. He made his vocal studies at the Paris Conservatory, and made his debut at La Monnaie in Brussels in 1950, where he would remain until 1952. Upon his return in France he made his debut in Paris, at the Paris Opéra and the Opéra-Comique, where he sang the lead tenor roles in opera such as ''La dame blanche'', ''Les Indes galantes'', ''Il matrimonio segreto'', ''The Barber of Seville'', ''Le comte Ory'', etc. He sang at the Aix-en-Provence Festival for 23 years, notably in Rameau's ''Platée'' for his debut there in 1956. He also appeared at the Vienna State Opera, the festivals of Salzburg and Glyndebourne, in Mozart roles such as Ottavio and Tamino.

Sénéchal also appeared regularly in operetta, especially by Offenbach, such as ''Orphée aux enfers'', '' La Vie parisienne'' and ''La Périchole'', where his comic talent was shown to fine effect. As the years went by Sénéchal started concentrating on character roles such as Basilio in ''Nozze di Figaro'', Goro in ''Madama Butterfly'', the Holy Fool in ''Boris Godunov'', Monsieur Triquet in ''Eugene Onegin'', Guillot de Morfontaine in ''Manon'', and the four servants in ''Les contes d'Hoffmann'', which were his debut roles at the Metropolitan Opera on 8 March 1982. Sénéchal took part in the creation of contemporary works such as the roles of Fabien in Marcel Landowski's ''Montségur'' and Pope Leo X in Konrad Boehmer's ''Doctor Faustus''. He remained active on stage until late in life, appearing in performance into the early years of the 21st century.

He began teaching at "L'École d'art lyrique" of the Paris Opéra in 1979, and was eventually named director of the school. He can be heard in several recordings, such as ''La dame blanche'', the title role in ''Le Comte Ory'', ''Mireille'', and ''Thais'', made in his prime, in the early 1960s.

Michel Sénéchal died in Eaubonne on 1 April 2018, aged 91.Décés de Michel Sénéchal
forumopera.com; accessed 1 April 2018.

References

Sources

* Alain Pâris, ''Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l'interpretation musicale au XX siècle'' (2 vols), Éditions Robert Laffont (Bouquins, Paris 1982, 4th Edn. 1995, 5th Edn 2004).
* Roland Mancini and Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, (orig. H. Rosenthal and J. Warrack, French edition), ''Guide de l’opéra'', Les indispensables de la musique (Fayard, 1995).

{{DEFAULTSORT:Senechal, Michel
1927 births
2018 deaths
French operatic tenors
Singers from Paris
Conservatoire de Paris alumni
20th-century French male opera singers
21st-century French male opera singers