Étienne Lainez (or Lainé, Laînez) (23 May 1753 – 15 September 1822) 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 ...

, and leading figure at the

Paris Opera 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 kn ...

for over thirty years. In the course of his career there he created many tenor roles including Rodrigue in Sacchini's '' Chimène'', Énée in Piccinni's '' Didon'', Narcisse in Gluck's '' Echo et Narcisse'', and Licinius in Spontini's '' La vestale''. Lainez was born in

Vaugirard The 15th arrondissement of Paris () is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ('the fifteenth'). The 15th arrondissement, called , is situated on the left bank of the River Seine. S ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and died in Paris as well. After his retirement from the stage, he taught lyric declamation at the

Paris Conservatoire 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 ...

References

French operatic tenors 1753 births 1822 deaths 18th-century French male opera singers 19th-century French male opera singers Singers from Paris {{France-opera-singer-stub