Victor Alexandre Joseph Warot (18 September 1834,

Verviers Verviers (; wa, Vervî) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also ...

– 29 March 1906,

Bois-Colombes Bois-Colombes () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 28,239. International companies such as Colgate-Palmolive, IBM and Aviva have their French head ...

) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

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 ...

singer. He began his career as a

lyric tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing 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 low extreme for tenors is widel ...

but later grew into a fine dramatic singer. He was particularly known for his portrayal of

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

and

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 d ...

heroes.Warot Biography at operissimo.com (in German)
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Early life

Warot was born in

into a musical and theatrical family. His father was the tenor Victor Alexandre Charles Warot (1808-1877) and his mother the actress Cécile ''née'' Desthieux. His uncle, (Constant Noel) Adolphe Warot (1812-1875) was a well-known cellist while a second uncle, (Victor Alexandre) Charles Warot (1804-1836) was a composer and conductor. Warot's grandfather Charles (François) Warot had been prompter at the Antwerp Theatre.

Kurt Gänzl Kurt-Friedrich Gänzl (born 15 February 1946) is a New Zealand writer, historian and former casting director and singer best known for his books about musical theatre. After a decade-long playwriting, acting and singing career, and a second ca ...

Victor Warot: a tenor not to be forgotten
- Musical research blog of

9 October 2019 Victor Warot ''fils'' studied initially with his father and then in Paris with Giulio Alary.

Musical career

He made his professional opera début at the Opéra-Comique in 1858 in

Armand Limnander Baron Armand-Marie Ghislain Limnander van Nieuwenhove (born 22 May 1814 in Ghent, Belgium – d. 15 August 1892 at the Château de Moignanville, a village in the department of Seine-et-Oise, France) was a Belgian composer of choral and orchest ...

's ''Les monténégrins'' followed by that of George Brown in ''La Dame Blanche''. In 1859 he created the role of The Reaper ('Le Faucheur') in the premiere of

's '' Le pardon de Ploërmel'', while other roles at this time included Bénédict in Auber's '' L'ambassadrice'', Lord Latimer in

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

's '' Le songe d'une nuit d'été'', Luidgi in Gabrielli's ''Don Gregorio'', the title-role in ''

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 ...

'' and de Mergy in ''

Le pré aux clercs ''Le pré aux clercs'' (''The Clerks' Meadow'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Ferdinand Hérold with a libretto by François-Antoine-Eugène de Planard based on Prosper Mérimée's ''Chronique du temps de Charles IX'' of 1829.Pougin A. ...

''. In 1860 he sang the role of Beppe in the premiere of

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 duri ...

's ''

Rita Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...

'' and created the role of Saëb in Offenbach's '' Barkouf'', while in 1861 he played Tonio in ''

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 ...

'', Antonio in Duprato’s ''Salvator Rosa'', and Max in ''Le Beauté du diable''. In 1862 he took on the title-role in ''

Le postillon de Lonjumeau ''Le postillon de Lonjumeau'' (''The Postillion of Lonjumeau'') is an opéra-comique in three acts by Adolphe Adam to a French libretto by Adolphe de Leuven and Léon Lévy Brunswick. The opera has become the most successful of Adam's works, ...

'' and played Lorédan Grimani in '' Haydée, ou Le secret'' and Azor in ''

Zémire et Azor ' (''Zémire and Azor'') is an opéra comique, described as a ''comédie-ballet mêlée de chants et de danses'', in four acts by the Belgian composer André Grétry. The French text was by Jean-François Marmontel based on ''La Belle et la bête'' ...

''. From 1861 until 1869 he was engaged at the Paris Opera where he portrayed roles in several world premieres, including Tebaldo in

Victor Massé Victor Massé (born ''Félix-Marie Massé''; 7 March 1822 – 5 July 1884) was a French composer. Biography Massé was born in Lorient (Morbihan) and studied at the Paris Conservatoire, winning the Prix de Rome in 1844 for his cantata ''Le Rén� ...

’s ''La mule de Pedro'' (1863) and Don Alvaro in Meyerbeer's ''

L'Africaine ''L'Africaine'' (''The African Woman'') is an 1865 French ''grand opéra'' in five acts with music by Giacomo Meyerbeer and a libretto by Eugène Scribe. Meyerbeer and Scribe began working on the opera in 1837, using the title ''L'Africaine'', bu ...

'' (1865). He also sang Don Ottavio in '' Don Giovanni'', the title hero 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 ...

'', Henri in ''

Les vêpres siciliennes ''Les vêpres siciliennes'' (''The Sicilian Vespers'') is a grand opera in five acts by the Italian romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi set to a French libretto by Eugène Scribe and Charles Duveyrier from their work ''Le duc d'Albe'' of 1838. ...

'', and Masaniello in ''

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 Scr ...

''.

Warot appeared on the concert platform in

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

’s ''

Le désert Le Désert () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Valdallière.Berlioz’s ''

L'enfance du Christ ''L'enfance du Christ'' (''The Childhood of Christ''), Opus 25, is an oratorio by the French composer Hector Berlioz, based on the Holy Family's flight into Egypt (see Gospel of Matthew 2:13). Berlioz wrote his own words for the piece. Most of it ...

'' and in Pergoleisi’s '' Stabat Mater''. During this period he appeared in two operas which would be significant throughout his career, as Léopold in '' La Juive'' and Alphonse in ''

''. In the following year he appeared as Henri in ''

''. He sang Amenophis in '' Moïse'', played Daniel in Boulanger’s ''Le Docteur Magnus'', sang Guillaume in Auber's '' Le Philtre'' and appeared as 'a shepherd' in the 1864 premier of Mermet's ''Roland à Roncevaux'' and sang in

's ''

''. In 1865 he married the young dance student Marie-Ann Léger; they would remain together until her death in 1904. Warot was committed to

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 ...

from 1868 to 1876 where he portrayed such parts as Riccardo in ''

Un ballo in maschera ''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''. Th ...

'', Manrico in ''

Il trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

'', Erik in ''

The Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...

'', the title role in ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...

'', Raoul in ''

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 by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history ...

'', Eléazar in '' La Juive'', and John of Leyden 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 ...

''. From 1876 until his retirement from the stage in 1888 he remained active as a freelance artist at major opera houses in France and Belgium.

Later life

Warot devoted himself to teaching singing after his opera career ended, in 1886 becoming professor at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as 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 ...

in the place of Marc Bonnehée who had recently died. Although Warot occasionally still appeared on the concert platform he now began another successful career as a teacher and administrator. A number of his pupils went on to have successful careers, including Lucienne Bréval,

Edmond Clément Edmond Clément (28 March 1867, Paris - 24 February 1928, Nice) was a French lyric tenor who earned an international reputation due to the polished artistry of his singing. During his career he also held a private studio, one of his students being ...

, Jeanne Hatto, and Lina Pacary. In 1885 he was appointed an Officier of the Académie française and in 1903 he was awarded the Légion d’Honneur. In 1902 he published a book, ''Bréviaire du chanteur''. He died in

in 1906.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warot, Victor 1834 births 1906 deaths People from Verviers Belgian operatic tenors 19th-century Belgian male opera singers Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Members of the Académie Française Officiers of the Légion d'honneur