André Mallabrera (15 June 1934 – 2 October 2017) was a French

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 ...

. Born in

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

, (then in

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

), he was the son of singer José Mallabrera. After following his father into the

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

trade, Mallabrera undertook vocal studies at the Conservatoire d'Alger and in 1958 joined the Réunion des Théâtres Lyriques Nationaux.André Mallabrera page on artlyriquefr.fr
accessed 27 February 2018. His career was based at both the Opéra Comique (where he made his debut in December 1958 as Almaviva), and the Opéra in Paris (his debut being Hylas in ''Les Troyens'' in May 1962). His voice, described as 'light, with immaculate French' was particularly at home at the former house in '' Mireille'' (Vincent), ''

La Fille de Madame Angot ''La fille de Madame Angot'' (, ''Madame Angot's Daughter'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq with words by Clairville (Louis-François Nicolaïe), Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning. It was premiered in Brussels in ...

'' (Pomponnet), the title role 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� ...

'', and ''

La Chauve-Souris ''La Chauve-Souris'' (French: ''The Bat'') was the name of a touring revue during the early 1900s. Originating in Moscow and then Paris, and directed by Nikita Balieff, the revue toured the United States, Europe, and South Africa. The show consiste ...

'' (Alfred). In 1961 he sang Gustave in the premiere of

Georges Van Parys Georges Van Parys (7 June 1902 in Paris – 28 January 1971 in Paris) was a French composer of film music and operettas. Among his musical influences were the group Les Six, Maurice Ravel, and Claude Debussy. Later in his career he served as vic ...

's opera-ballet-bouffe ''La Belle de Paris''. and took a minor rôle in the premiere of Menotti's '' Le Dernier Sauvage'' in 1963. He sang in the first modern revival of '' Les Boréades'' on 16 September 1964 (celebrating the 200th anniversary of Rameau's death) at the Maison de la Radio in Paris, recorded for broadcast the following month; the cast included

Christiane Eda-Pierre Christiane Eda-Pierre (24 March 1932 – 6 September 2020) was a French coloratura soprano of Martinican origin,Alain Pâris. ''Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l’interprétation musicale au XX siècle.'' Éditions Robert Laffont, Paris, 1995 ...

. As the Comte de Nangis he took part in a complete BBC broadcast of Chabrier's ''

Le Roi malgré lui ''Le roi malgré lui'' (''The King in Spite of Himself'' or ''The Reluctant King'') is an opéra-comique in three acts by Emmanuel Chabrier of 1887 with an original libretto by Emile de Najac and Paul Burani. The opera is revived occasionally, b ...

'' recorded in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in 1973, conducted by

Manuel Rosenthal Manuel Rosenthal (18 June 1904 – 5 June 2003) was a French composer and conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and the United States. He was friends with many contemporary composers, and despite a considerab ...

Discography

* 1960: ''

Si j'étais roi ''Si j'étais roi'' (, ) is an opéra comique in three acts by Adolphe Adam. The libretto was written by Adolphe d'Ennery and Jules-Henri Brésil. It was first performed in Paris at the Théâtre Lyrique (Théâtre-Historique, Boulevard du Templ ...

'',

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 ...

by Adolphe Adam: role of Zéphoris. With Liliane Berton (Néméa), René Bianco (Moussol),

Henri Médus Henri Médus (21 October 1904 – 11 November 1985) was a French operatic Bass (voice type), bass. A member of the troupe of the Opéra Garnier from 1933, he distinguished himself particularly in the roles of : ''The Magic Flute'' (Sarastro), ...

(Kadoor), Pierre Heral (Zizel), Bernard Alvi (Piféar) and Andrée Gabriel (Zélide).

Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire The Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire () was a symphony orchestra established in Paris in 1828. It gave its first concert on 9 March 1828 with music by Beethoven, Rossini, Meifreid, Rode and Cherubini. Administered by the phi ...

, directed by Richard Blareau.,Richard Blareau
on Discogs Universal Classics, France. * 1961: Récital André Mallabrera (operatic extracts) - with

Jésus Etcheverry Jésus Etcheverry (14 November 1911 in Bordeaux – 12 January 1988 in Paris) was a French operatic conductor (music), conductor. He began studying the violin while still very young, and played with diverse small orchestras to pay for his tuitions ...

and orchestra: Vega * 1962: ''

La fille du tambour-major ''La fille du tambour-major'' (, ''The Drum Major's Daughter'') is an opéra comique in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot. It was one of the composer's last works, premiered less than a year bef ...

'' by Offenbach (as Griolet) with Christiane Harbell, Étienne Arnaud, Monique De Pondeau, orchestra and chorus conducted by Richard Blareau: French Decca * 1962: '' La Veuve Joyeuse'' by Franz Lehár (Camille) with Jacques Luccioni,

Géori Boué Georgette "Géori" Boué (16 October 1918 – 5 January 2017) was a French soprano, particularly associated with the French repertory, especially Marguérite, '' Thais'' and Salomé (Massenet). She was born in Toulouse. Following her career in ...

, Agnès Noël, conducted by Jacques Pastory: Vega 30 LT 13.007 * 1964: ''

Les Contes d'Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

'' by Offenbach (as Nathanael) with

Nicolai Gedda Harry Gustaf Nikolai Gädda, better known as Nicolai Gedda (11 July 1925 – 8 January 2017), was a Swedish operatic tenor. Debuting in 1951, Gedda had a long and successful career in opera until the age of 77 in June 2003, when he made his final ...

, Orchestre de la Societé des Concerts du Conservatoire and Choeurs René Duclos conducted by

André Cluytens Augustin Zulma Alphonse "André" Cluytens (, ; 26 March 19053 June 1967)Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. was a Belgian-born French conducting, conductor who was active in the conce ...

: EMI * 1965: ''La Veuve Joyeuse'' by Franz Lehár (Camille) with André Dassary, Nicole Broissin, Gabrielle Delourlet, conducted by Hans Killer: Vega – V 30 M 979 LP * 1966: ''La Veuve Joyeuse'' by Franz Lehár (Camille) with

Michel Dens Michel Dens (22 June 1911 in Roubaix – 19 December 2000 in Paris) was a French baritone, particularly associated with the French repertory, both opera and operetta. Born Maurice Marcel, the son of a journalist, he studied at the Academy of ...

Micheline Dax Micheline Dax (3 March 1924 – 27 April 2014) was a French film and stage actress and singer. She did the voice to Ursula in the French dub in Disney's "The Little Mermaid". The Paris-born actress was born Micheline Josette Renée Etevenon. Sh ...

, Suzanne Lafaye, conducted by Yvon Leenart: Pathé CPTC 2026/7 * 1968: Mozart - Missa Brevis in D Major, K. 194, with Rotraud Hansmann, Ingrid Mayr, Roger Soyer, Philippe Caillard Choir, Vienna Baroque Ensemble conducted by

Theodor Guschlbauer Theodor Guschlbauer (born 1939 in Vienna) is an Austrian conductor. Decorations and awards * 1995: Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class * 1996: Honour "Victoire" for his work on the ''Opéra du Rhin'' and at the Strasbourg Phil ...

; Musical Heritage Society – MHS 840 LP * 1968: Excerpts from ''

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

'' and '' Armide'' by Lully; Jean François Paillard Orchestra, Musical Heritage Society * 1969: ''

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''The S ...

'' by Massenet, (role of Schmidt) with

Victoria de los Ángeles Victoria de los Ángeles López García (1 November 192315 January 2005) was a Spanish operatic lyric soprano and recitalist whose career began after the Second World War and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. ...

and

; Orchestre de Paris conducted by

Georges Prêtre Georges Prêtre (; 14 August 1924 – 4 January 2017) was a French orchestral and opera conductor. Biography Prêtre was born in Waziers ( Nord), and attended the Douai Conservatory and then studied harmony under Maurice Duruflé and conduct ...

, HMV * 1970: ''Le Malade imaginaire'' (Lully/Molière) as one of the singers, with

Georges Chamarat Georges Chamarat (30 March 1901 – 21 November 1982) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 100 films and television shows between 1929 and 1981. He starred in the film '' The Adventures of Arsène Lupin'', which was entered into the ...

, Chorus of the Jeunesses musicales de France, Orchestre de chambre des Concerts de Paris conducted by Louis Martini - Guilde Internationale du Disque SMS 2858 * 1973: ''Princesse Czardas'' by Emmerich Kálmán (as Boni) with Willy Clément, Agnès Léger, Magda Bocher conducted by Gerhard Becker, Vogue LP – CMS 2936 30 * 1977: ''Faust et Hélène'' by

Lili Boulanger Marie-Juliette Boulanger (; 21 August 189315 March 1918), professionally known as Lili Boulanger (), was a French composer and musician who was the first female winner of the Grand Prix de Rome composition prize. Her older sister was the noted ...

, with Lyne Dourian conducted by

Igor Markevitch Igor Borisovich Markevitch (, ''Igor Borisovich Markevich'', , ''Ihor Borysovych Markevych''; 27 July 1912 – 7 March 1983) was a Russian composer and conductor who studied and worked in Paris and became a naturalized Italian and French citi ...

, Concert Hall * 1978: ''

Orphée aux enfers ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act " opéra bouffon" at the Th ...

'' by Offenbach (as Mercure).

Michel Plasson Michel Plasson (born 2 October 1933, Paris, France) is a French conductor. Plasson was a student of Lazare Lévy at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1962, he was a prize-winner at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors. ...

conducting the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, with

Michel Sénéchal Michel Sénéchal (11 February 1927 – 1 April 2018) was a French tenor, particularly associated with French and Italian character roles in a repertory ranging from Baroque to contemporary works. Life and career Michel Sénéchal was born in Pa ...

in the title role,

Mady Mesplé Mady Mesplé (7 March 1931 – 30 May 2020) was a French opera singer who was considered the leading coloratura soprano of her generation in France, and sometimes heralded as the successor to Mado Robin, with ''Lakmé'' by Delibes becoming her si ...

as Euridice, Charles Burles, Michel Trempont,

Jean-Philippe Lafont Jean-Philippe Lafont (born 11 February 1951) is a French baritone. He studied in his native city of Toulouse and later at the Opéra-Studio in Paris. He made his operatic debut as Papageno in ''The Magic Flute'' at the Salle Favart, Paris in 1974. ...

, Jane Berbié, Jane Rhodes (EMI CDS7496472).

References

External links

André Mallabrera on artlyriquefr.fr, with audio files

''Décès du ténor André Mallabrera''
on ForumOpera.com
André Mallabrera, ''Ecco ridente in cielo'' (Il barbiere di Siviglia)
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Mallabrera, Andre 1934 births 2017 deaths People from Oran French operatic tenors 20th-century French male opera singers