Eugène-Charles Caron (4 November 1834 – 1903) was a French operatic

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 ...

. He was born in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

and after studying 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 ...

, made his stage debut in 1862 as Count di Luna in Verdi's '' Le trouvère''. He sang leading roles 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 25 years, including the world premieres of operas by Auguste Mermet and Victorin de Joncières and an

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...

. He lived 69 years and also on a street that bears his name and surname

Life and career

Caron was born in

on 4 November 1834. In 1848, at the age of 14, he entered the French civil service and worked in the

Prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

of Seine-Inférieure until 1861 when he decided to pursue a career as a singer.X Y Z (1875) p. 229 He was admitted to the

and in the summer of 1861 won one of the three First Prizes in singing. The correspondent for ''

Dwight's Journal of Music ''Dwight's Journal of Music'' (1852–1881, ''DJM'') was an American music journal, one of the most respected and influential such periodicals in the country in the mid-19th century. John Sullivan Dwight created the Journal, and published it in ...

'', who attended the competition, wrote:

M. Caron, is a barytone verging on the tenor. He is well versed in the resources of his art, and sings with animation. His face is good, too, as regards expression.

After studying singing with Paul Laget and declamation with Nicolas Levasseur, Caron graduated from the Conservatory in 1862, winning the First Prize in opera. He was engaged by the

that same year and made his official debut on 26 September 1862 as Count di Luna in a revival of Verdi's '' Le trouvère''. He went on to sing leading baritone roles with the company in a career spanning 25 years and created the roles of Maître Jean in Mermet's ''

Jeanne d'Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

'' (1876) and Enguerrand in Joncières's '' La reine Berthe'' (1878). His other roles with the company included: Ashton in '' Lucie de Lammermoor'', Guy de Montfort in '' Les vêpres siciliennes'', Raimbaud in '' Le comte Ory'', Masetto in ''

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 ...

'', Nélusko in ''

L'Africaine ''L'Africaine'' (''The African Woman'') is an 1837 five-act French ''grand opéra'' by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Eugène Scribe. By 1852, the plot had been revised to depict fictional events in the life of Portuguese explorer Vasco da ...

'', Kilian in ''

Der Freischütz ' (Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns, J. 277, Opus number, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Johann Fried ...

'', Alphonse in ''

La favorite ''La favorite'' (''The Favourite'', frequently referred to by its Italian title: ''La favorita'') is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play ''Le com ...

'', Le Comte de Nevers 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 '' ...

'', Hadjar in '' Le tribut de Zamora'', and Valentin in ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

''. Caron also sang in the world premieres of

s by

Théodore Dubois Clément François Théodore Dubois (; 24 August 1837 – 11 June 1924) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, organist, and music teacher. After study at the Paris Conservatoire, Dubois won France's premier musical prize, the Prix de Ro ...

(''Les sept paroles du Christ'', Saint Clotilde Basilica, 1867) and

(''La Vierge'',

Palais Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...

, 1880) and performed as a soloist in concerts of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, of which he was member from 1865 until 1873. He retired from the Paris Opera in 1886 and afterwards taught singing until three years before his death in 1903.Meyerbeer (2004) p. 332, note 81

References

Notes Sources * *''

'' (24 August 1861)
"Paris"
p. 168 * Holoman, D. Kern (2004). ''The Société des Concerts du Conservatoire 1828-1967''
Appendix 2
University of California Press. Online version retrieved 8 May 2013. * Meyerbeer, Giacomo (2004)
''The Diaries of Giacomo Meyerbeer: The Last Years 1857-1864''
(translated and annotated by Robert Ignatius Le Tellier). Fairleigh Dickinson University Press *Pitou, Spire (1990). ''The Paris Opera: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers Growth and Grandeur, 1815-1914'', Vol. 2. *X Y Z (pseudonym of T. Faucon) (1875). "Caron, Eugène-Charles"
''Le Nouvel Opéra: Monument - artistes''
pp. 229–230. M. Lévy {{DEFAULTSORT:Caron, Eugene Conservatoire de Paris alumni Musicians from Rouen 1834 births 1903 deaths 19th-century French male opera singers French operatic baritones