François Pierre Émile Engel (Paris 15 February 1847 – Paris 10th arrondissement 18 July 1927) was a French operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

active on the stages of Brussels, Paris,

Monte-Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to a larger district, the Mon ...

and other European cities where he sang leading roles in several world premieres.

Life and career

Engel was born in Paris and studied for four years with

Gilbert Duprez Gilbert-Louis Duprez (6 December 180623 September 1896) was a French tenor, singing teacher and minor composer who famously pioneered the delivery of the operatic high C from the chest (''Ut de poitrine'', as Paris audiences called it). He also c ...

. He made his debut in 1863 at the age of 16 in Duprez's ''Jeanne d'Arc''. Early in his career sang at the Théâtre des Fantaisies-Parisiennes in Paris, where in 1867 he created the title role in

Jules Duprato Jules Laurent Anacharsis Duprato (20 August 1827 – 20 May 1892) was a 19th-century French composer.Wagstaff 1992. Biography A student of Aimé Leborne at the Conservatoire de Paris, he won first prix de Rome, grand prix de Rome for musical c ...

's ''Le chanteur florentin''. He made his debut at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

in 1877 and the following year there created the role of Enrique in Louis Deffès's ''Les noces de Fernande''. In 1879, he left the Opéra-Comique and sang in other European countries. From 1885 to 1889 he was a leading tenor with

Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, singing in the world premieres of

Litolff Henry Charles Litolff (6 February 1818 – 5 August 1891) was a French and British virtuoso pianist, composer of Romantic music, and music publisher born in London. A prolific composer, he is today known mainly for a single brief work – the s ...

's, ''Les templiers'' (1886), Chabrier's ''

Gwendoline Gwendoline is a feminine given name, a variant of Gwendolen. Notable people called Gwendoline * Gwendoline Maud Syrie Barnardo (1879–1955), a British interior decorator * Gwendoline Butler (1922-2013), an English writer of mystery fiction *Gwen ...

'' (1886),

Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as F ...

's ''

Jocelyn Jocelyn is a surname and first name. It is a unisex (male/female) name. Variants include Jocelin, Joceline, Jocelyne, Jocelynn, Jocelynne, Joscelin, Josceline, Joscelyn, Joscelynn, Joscelynne, Joseline, Joselyn, Joselyne, Joslin, Joslyn, Josselin ...

'' (1888), and

Mathieu Mathieu is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * André Mathieu (1929–1968), Canadian pianist and composer * Anselme Mathieu (1828–1895), French Provençal poet * Claude-Louis Mathieu (1783–1875) ...

's ''Richilde'' (1888). His elder son Joseph (José) Engel (born

Joinville-le-Pont Joinville-le-Pont () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. History The commune was created in 1791 under the name La Branche-du-Pont-de-Saint-Maur (literally "The Branch of Saint-Mau ...

13 August 1868) was a painter, who left portraits and caricatures of Chabrier; after ''Gwendoline'' the families become close, corresponding and visiting each other. Chabrier dedicated his ''Chanson de Jeanne'' to Engel.Chabrier E, ''Correspondance''. Ed Delage R, Durif F. Klincksieck, 1994. 86-12n; 87-1n (letter from Émile Engel to Chabrier). In his later years Engel taught singing and remained in demand as a recitalist. His most famous pupil was

Jane Bathori Jane Bathori (14 June 1877 – 25 January 1970) was a French mezzo-soprano. She was famous on the operatic stage and important in the development of contemporary French music. Life and career Born Jeanne-Marie Berthier, she originally studied ...

, whom he later married. The couple often sang together in recitals of

art song An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...

by contemporary French composers.

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

's "Le martin-pêcheur" ("The

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

") from his song cycle ''Histoires naturelles '' is dedicated to Engel as is Satie's "Daphénéo". Engel became a Professor at the

Paris Conservatory The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

in 1907 and taught there until World War I. Amongst his other pupils were Louis Cazette,

Louis Guénot Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

Françoise Rosay Françoise Rosay (; born Françoise Bandy de Nalèche; 19 April 1891 – 28 March 1974) was a French opera singer, diseuse,''Design'', Volume 9 1965 p. 24 and actress who enjoyed a film career of over sixty years and who became a legendary figure ...

, and the Canadian tenor

Rodolphe Plamondon Rudolph or Rudolf may refer to: People * Rudolph (name), the given name including a list of people with the name Religious figures * Rudolf of Fulda (died 865), 9th century monk, writer and theologian * Rudolf von Habsburg-Lothringen (1788� ...

. Pierre-Émile Engel died in Paris in 1927 at the age of 80.

References

Sources

* *de Sévérac, Déodat and Guillot, Pierre (2002)
''La musique et les lettres''
Editions Mardaga. *Girard, Victor (1998)

Marston Records. *Martin, Jules (1895
''Nos artists: Portraits et biographies''
Paris: Libraire de l'Annuaire universale, p. 147 {{DEFAULTSORT:Engelm Pierre-Emile French operatic tenors 1847 births 1927 deaths Singers from Paris Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris 19th-century French male opera singers