Michel Trempont (28 July 1928 – 30 January 2021) was a Belgian operatic baritone whose repertoire extended from the 18th century to the creation of contemporary works. His brother was Pol Trempont (1923–2007), operatic tenor and one time director of the Théâtre de Mons.

Life and career

After studies with Rogatchewsky, Trempont made his debut in Liège in 1952 as Valentin. He then appeared 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 ...

in 1956, where he went on to sing, among other roles: Le mari in Menotti's '' Amelia Goes to the Ball'', Le Mesge in

Henri Tomasi Henri Tomasi (; 17 August 1901 – 13 January 1971) was a French classical composer and conductor. He was noted for compositions such as ''In Praise of Folly'', ''Nuclear Era'' and ''The Silence of the Sea''. Early years Henri Tomasi was born ...

's ''L'atlantide'', Ajax Deuxième in Offenbach's ''

La belle Hélène ''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy, Helen's elopement with Paris (myt ...

'', Marcello in Puccini's ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giusep ...

'', Moralès in Bizet's ''Carmen'', Silvio in Leoncavallo's '' Pagliacci'', Tourillon in Johann Strauss's ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original li ...

'' (as ''La chauve-souris''), Roger de Lansquenet in Reynaldo Hahn's '' Ciboulette'', Jean in Bohuslav Martinů's '' Comedy on the Bridge'' (as ''Comédie sur le pont''), Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni (as ''Don Juan''), Le frère jardinier in Tomasi's ''Don Juan de Manara'', a vagabond in Carl Orff's ''

Die Kluge ' (''The Wise irl The Story of the King and the Wise Woman'') is an opera in 12 scenes written by Carl Orff. It premiered at the Frankfurt Opera, Germany, on 20 February 1943. Orff referred to this opera as a ' ( fairy tale opera). The composer a ...

'' (as ''Echec au roi''), Maître Pausanias in Chabrier's '' Une éducation manquée'', Valentin in Gounod's ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

'', Louchard in Charles Lecocq's ''

La fille de Madame Angot ''La fille de Madame Angot'' (''Madame Angot's Daughter'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq with words by Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning. It was premiered in Brussels in December 1872 and soon became a success in ...

'', Le marquis Bambini in Offenbach's '' La fille du tambour-major'', Vitellius in Massenet's ''

Hérodiade ''Hérodiade'' is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Paul Milliet and Henri Grémont, based on the novella ''Hérodias'' (1877) by Gustave Flaubert. It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels ...

'', Jun (one of the gangsters) in Cole Porter's ''

Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-stag ...

'', Frédéric in Léo Delibes' ''

Lakmé ''Lakmé'' is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the Opéra-Comique at the (second) Salle Favart in ...

'', a rascal in Orff's '' Der Mond'' (as ''La lune''), Banquo in Verdi's '' Macbeth'', De Brétigny in Massenet's '' Manon'', Bacarel in

Edmond Audran Achille Edmond Audran (12 April 184017 August 1901) was a French composer best known for several internationally successful comic operas and operettas. After beginning his career in Marseille as an organist, Audran composed religious music and ...

's '' Miss Helyett'', Borello in Henry Février's '' Monna Vanna'', Bantison in André Messager's '' Monsieur Beaucaire'', Bridaine in Louis Varney's '' Les mousquetaires au couvent'', Phorbas in Enescu's '' Œdipe'', Le chien in Albert Wolff's '' L'oiseau bleu'', the Beggar in John Gay's ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

'' (as ''L'opéra du gueux''), Gustav von Pottenstein in Franz Lehár's ''

The Land of Smiles ''The Land of Smiles'' (German: ') is a 1929 romantic operetta in three acts by Franz Lehár. The German language libretto was by and Fritz Löhner-Beda. The performance duration is about 100 minutes. This was one of Lehár's later works, and ...

'' (as ''Le pays du sourire''), Panatellas in Offenbach's ''

La Périchole ''La Périchole'' () is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the French libretto based on the 1829 one act play '' Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement'' by Prosper Mérimée, which was revived o ...

'', Ceprano in Verdi's ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...

'', Moussoul in Adolphe Adam's ''

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 ...

'', Monsieur Choufleuri in Offenbach's '' M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le . . .'', Gardefeu in Offenbach's '' La Vie parisienne'', and Albert in Massenet's ''

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 '' Th ...

''. Trempont attained an international career with performances at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, where he made his debut in 1966, and sang (French versions) Figaro in the Mozart opera and in Rossini's;

Marcello Marcello is a common masculine Italian given name. It is a variant of Marcellus. The Spanish and Portuguese version of the name is Marcelo, differing in having only one "l", while the Greek form is Markellos. Etymology The name originally means ...

, Sharpless, Gaillardin (Gabriel von Eisenstein) in ''Die Fledermaus (La Chauve-Souris)'', Rimbaud in ''

Le comte Ory ''Le comte Ory'' (''Count Ory'') is a comic opera written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera '' Il viaggio a Reims'' written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X. The French libretto was by Eug ...

'', Zurga in '' les pêcheurs de perles'' and le Marquis de Clainvillela in Sauguet's ''La Gageure imprévue''. He appeared at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

London, La Scala, Milan, La Fenice, Venice,

Teatro San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent ...

in Naples and

San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when h ...

. His repertoire has included Figaro (in both Mozart's ''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' and Rossini's ''

Il barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...

''), Guglielmo ('' Così fan tutte''), Rimbaud (''

''), Sulpice (''

La fille du régiment ' (''The Daughter of the Regiment'') is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti, set to a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard. It was first performed on 11 February 1840 by the Paris Opéra ...

''), Fieramosca ('' Benvenuto Cellini''), Taddeo (''

L'italiana in Algeri ''L'italiana in Algeri'' (; ''The Italian Girl in Algiers'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. It premiered at the Teatro San ...

''), Sancho (''

Don Quichotte ''Don Quichotte'' (''Don Quixote'') is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn. It was first performed on 19 February 1910 at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Massenet's ''comédie-héroïque'', like many dramatiz ...

''), and the king in Prokofiev's '' L'Amour des trois oranges''. At Grand Théâtre de Genève his roles have included: the Sacristan, Pandolphe ('' Cendrillon''), Le Baron de Gondremarck, Crespel, Peter ('' Hänsel et Gretel''), Carpe (''La Forêt''), V'lan (''

Le voyage dans la lune ''A Trip to the Moon'' (french: Le Voyage dans la Lune) is a 1902 French adventure film, adventure short film directed by Georges Méliès. Inspired by a wide variety of sources, including Jules Verne's 1865 novel ''From the Earth to the Moon' ...

'', also televised), and Pantalon (''L'Amour des trois oranges''). As the Comte de Fritelli he took part in a complete BBC broadcast of Chabrier's ''

Le roi malgré lui ''Le roi malgré lui'' (''King in Spite of Himself'' or ''The reluctant king'') is an opéra-comique in three acts by Emmanuel Chabrier of 1887 with an original libretto by Emile de Najac and Paul Burani. The opera is revived occasionally, but ...

'' recorded in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in 1973, conducted by

Manuel Rosenthal Manuel Rosenthal (18 June 1904 – 5 June 2003) was a French composer and conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and America. He was friends with many contemporary composers, and despite a considerable list of c ...

.Loppert, Max. On Radio: ''Le Serpent à Plumes'' (Delibes), Radio 3, August 3, ''Le Roi malgré lui'' (Chabrier), Radio 3, August 12. ''

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

'', November 1973, Vol.24 No.11, 1039–1042.

Discography

List of recordings of complete operas by composer with title, recording label, and role: * Adolphe Adam: ''

Le toréador ''Le toréador, ou L'accord parfait'' (''The Toreador, or The Perfect Agreement'') is an ''opéra comique'' in two acts by the French composer Adolphe Adam with a libretto by Thomas-Marie-François Sauvage. It was first performed at the Opéra-Co ...

'' (Decca) – Don Belflor * Daniel Auber: ''

Fra Diavolo Fra Diavolo (lit. Brother Devil; 7 April 1771–11 November 1806), is the popular name given to Michele Pezza, a famous guerrilla leader who resisted the French occupation of Naples, proving an "inspirational practitioner of popular insurrect ...

'' (EMI) – Giacomo * Georges Bizet: '' Carmen'' (EMI) – Dancaire * Gaetano Donizetti: ''

'' (EMI) – Sulpice * André Grétry: '' Richard Coeur-de-lion'' (EMI) – Blondel * Jules Massenet: '' Manon'' (DG) - Brétigny * André Messager: '' Fortunio'' (EMI) – Maître André *

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ' ...

: ** ''

Les brigands ''Les brigands'' (''The Bandits'') is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. Meilhac and Halévy's libretto lampoons both serious drama (Schiller's play ''The Robbers'') ...

'' (EMI) – Pietro ** ''

Mesdames de la Halle ''Mesdames de la Halle'' is an opérette bouffe in one act by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Armand Lapointe. It was first performed at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, Paris on 3 March 1858. and was the first work of Offenbach's at t ...

'' (EMI) – Madame Madou ** '' Monsieur Choufleuri restera…'' (EMI) – Petermann ** ''

Orphée aux enfers ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act "opéra bouffon" at the Théâ ...

'' (EMI) – Jupiter ** ''

'' (EMI) – Panatellas ** '' La Vie parisienne'' (EMI) – Bobinet * Gioachino Rossini: ''

La cambiale di matrimonio ''La cambiale di matrimonio'' (; English: ''The Bill of Marriage'' or ''The Marriage Contract'') is a one-act operatic farsa comica by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Gaetano Rossi. The libretto was based on the play by Camillo Federici (1 ...

'' (Universal) – Mill * Ambroise Thomas: ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (EMI) – Polonius * Louis Varney: '' Les mousquetaires au couvent'' (EMI) – Brissac

References

''This article includes some material adapted from French Wikipedia.''

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trempont, Michel 1928 births 2021 deaths Belgian opera singers Operatic baritones People from Boussu