Émile Colonne (18 April 1885 – 13 May 1970) was a French

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

, a member of the troupe of the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels.

Biography

Émile Aimable Parfait Colonne was born in Toulon on 18 April 11885 in a modest family.''Un Amour plus fort que la grande guerre'' by Paul Falkenback, (
Read on line
/ref> His father was a carpenter and nothing predestined the young apprentice plumber who liked to sing in a lyrical career. A lung disease caused him to take singing lessons as therapeutic breathing exercises. His natural dispositions led him to the conservatory of Toulon and then to the Marseille conservatory where he obtained a First Prize. On 7 June 1913, he married a young pianist in Toulon: Marie-Louise Bonduel (Toulon, 22 August 1886 - Brussels, 30 November 1970), whose family was linked to personalities such as

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

, Xavier Leroux and

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

. He made his debut on the stage of the Opéra de Toulon. His voice of

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular ''opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...

and his physical appearance as a "young premier" made him noticeable by opera directors who called him on stages all over the country and beyond: Toulouse, Nancy, Strasbourg, Geneva, Algiers, Marseille, Tunis, Nantes. In 1924 he was hired by Maurice Corneil de Thoran in the troupe of the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels where his career continued until 1952, interspersed with recitals,

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

s and roles in other Opera houses such as the Opéra Garnier where he sang Papageno in 1928. Émile Colonne died 13 May 1970 in Brussels.

Repertoire

Émile Colonne's repertoire consists of 67 roles, including 23 premieres for the Théâtre de la Monnaie, and notably:Biography of Émille Colonne on malibran.com
/ref> ;Opera * Boniface: '' Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame'' by Jules Massenet * Créon: '' Antigone'' by Arthur Honegger * Des Grieux: '' Manon'' by Jules Massenet * Don Giovanni: ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'' by Mozart * Germont: '' La traviata'' by Giuseppe Verdi * Ourrias: '' Mireille'' by Charles Gounod * Pandolphe: '' Cendrillon'' by Jules Massenet * Sancho: '' Don Quichotte'' by Jules Massenet * '' Il barbiere di Siviglia'' by Gioachino Rossini * '' Grisélidis'' by Jules Massenet * '' Roméo et Juliette'' by Charles Gounod ;Recital * '' Don Quichotte à Dulcinée'' by Maurice Ravel * ''La Légende du preux'' by * '' The dream'' by Franz Schubert * '' O Holy Night'' by Adolphe Adam

References

External links

Émile Colonne (1885-1970) baryton français
on Ader Nordman {{DEFAULTSORT:Colonne, Emile 1885 births 1970 deaths Musicians from Toulon French operatic baritones 20th-century French male opera singers