Molinier was the stage name of François Gély (1807–1859), a French operatic
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
who mostly performed minor roles at the
Paris Opéra
The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...
.
[Tamvaco 2000, vol. 2, p. 740.]
He made his professional debut without much success on 15 February 1826 with 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 ...
at the
Salle Feydeau
Salle is the French word for 'hall', 'room' or 'auditorium', as in:
* Salle des Concerts Herz, a former Paris concert hall
*Salle Favart, theatre of the Paris Opéra-Comique
*Salle Le Peletier, former home of the Paris Opéra
*Salle Pleyel, a Par ...
as Alibour in Méhul's ''
Euphrosine et Coradin''.
[
He first appeared at the Paris Opéra on 2 October 1837 as an emergency replacement in a leading bass role, Pietro in ]Daniel Auber
Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire.
Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally when ...
's ''La muette de Portici
''La muette de Portici'' (''The Mute Girl of Portici'', or ''The Dumb Girl of Portici''), also called ''Masaniello'' () in some versions, is an opera in five acts by Daniel Auber, with a libretto by Germain Delavigne, revised by Eugène Scribe.
...
''. He sang with great emotion, but was thought to have overextended his resources. However, having rescued the performance (and the receipts), he was rewarded by engagement as a company regular, and continued to sing there until 1854.[ During this period he created a number of minor roles, as noted in the list below. He also performed other minor roles, such as a herald-in-arms in ]Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...
's ''Robert le diable
''Robert le diable'' (''Robert the Devil'') is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831, to a libretto written by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. ''Robert le diable'' is regarded as one of the first grand o ...
'', the Comte de Nevers in Meyerbeer's ''Les Huguenots
() is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work suc ...
'', Rodolphe and Melcthal in Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...
's ''Guillaume Tell
''William Tell'' (french: Guillaume Tell, link=no; it, Guglielmo Tell, link=no) is a French-language opera in four acts by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy and L. F. Bis, based on Friedrich Sch ...
'', and Pharaon in Rossini's ''Moïse
Moise is a given name and surname, with differing spellings in its French and Romanian origins, both of which originate from the name Moses: Moïse is the French spelling of Moses, while Moise is the Romanian spelling. As a surname, Moisè and Mo ...
''.
Roles created
* 1838: Lorenzo in ''Guido et Ginevra
''Guido et Ginevra, ou La Peste de Florence'' (French: ''Guido and Ginevra, or the Plague at Florence'') is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to a libretto by Eugène Scribe. It was premiered on 5 March 1838 by the Paris Opera at the ...
'' by Halévy
* 1838: Pompeo in ''Benvenuto Cellini
Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...
'' by Berlioz
* 1839: Pikler in '' Le lac des fées'' by Auber
* 1840: A Christian in ''Les martyrs
''Les martyrs'' (''The Martyrs'') is a four-act grand opera by Gaetano Donizetti set to a French libretto by Eugène Scribe. The libretto was based on one written by Salvadore Cammarano for an original Italian version known as ''Poliuto'', which w ...
'' by Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...
* 1840: A lord in ''La favorite
''La favorite'' (''The Favourite'', sometimes referred to by its Italian title: ''La favorita'') is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play ''Le comt ...
'' by Donizetti
* 1843: A student in '' Charles VI'' by Halévy
* 1844: Randolph in '' Marie Stuart'' by Louis Niedermeyer
Abraham Louis Niedermeyer (27 April 180214 March 1861) was a Swiss and naturalized French composer.
He chiefly wrote church music and a few operas. He also taught music and took over the École Choron, renamed École Niedermeyer de Paris, a scho ...
* 1847: A herald in ''Jérusalem
''Jérusalem'' is a grand opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was to be an adaptation and partial translation of the composer's original 1843 Italian opera, ''I Lombardi alla prima crociata''. It was the one opera which he regarded ...
'' by Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
* 1849: The herald in ''Le prophète
''Le prophète'' (''The Prophet'') is a grand opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, which was premiered in Paris on 16 April 1849. The French-language libretto was by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, after passages from the ''Essay on the M ...
'' by Meyerbeer[Wolff 1962, p. 177; Parsons 1993, p. 877.]
* 1852: A lord in ''Le Juif errant
''The Wandering Jew'' (french: link=no, Le Juif errant) is an 1844 novel by the French writer Eugène Sue.
Plot
The story is entitled ''The Wandering Jew'', but the figure of the Wandering Jew himself plays a minimal role. The prologue of the ...
'' by Halévy
References
Notes
Sources
* Parsons, Charles H. (1993). ''Opera Premieres: An Index of Casts/Performers: K–Z'', Volume 16 in the series ''The Mellen Opera Index''. Lewiston, New York: The Edward Mellen Press. .
* Tamvaco, Jean-Louis (2000). ''Les Cancans de l'Opéra. Chroniques de l'Académie Royale de Musique et du théâtre, à Paris sous les deux restorations'' (2 volumes, in French). Paris: CNRS Editions. .
* Wolff, Stéphane (1962). ''L'Opéra au Palais Garnier (1875–1962)''. Paris: Deposé au journal L'Entr'acte . Paris: Slatkine (1983 reprint) .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Molinier
French operatic baritones
1807 births
1859 deaths
19th-century French male opera singers