
François Lay, better known under the stage name Lays (14 February 1758 – 30 March 1831), 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 ...
and
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 ...
opera singer. Originally destined for a career in the church, Lays was recruited by the
Paris Opéra
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 ...
in 1779. He soon became a leading member of the company, in spite of quarrels with the management. Lays enthusiastically welcomed the
French Revolution and became involved in politics with the encouragement of his friend
Bertrand Barère
Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac (, 10 September 175513 January 1841) was a French politician, freemason, journalist, and one of the most prominent members of the National Convention, representing the Plain (a moderate political faction) during the ...
. Barère's downfall led to Lays being imprisoned briefly, but he soon won back the public and secured the patronage of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, at whose coronation and second wedding he sang. This association with the Emperor caused him trouble when the Bourbon monarchy was restored and Lays's final years were darkened by disputes over his pension, mounting debts, the death of his only son and his wife's illness. After a career spanning more than four decades, he died in poverty.
Lays was famous for the beauty of his voice. One of the Opéra's most popular artistes, he enjoyed his greatest success singing comic roles, such as Anacreon in
Grétry's ''Anacréon chez Polycrate'' (1797) and the bailiff in
Lebrun's ''Le rossignol'' (1816).
Biography
Youth and education
Lays was born in the village of
La Barthe-de-Neste
La Barthe-de-Neste (, literally ''La Barthe of Neste (river), Neste''; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées Departments of France, department in southwestern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées ...
in the region of
Bigorre
Bigorre (; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region k ...
in what was then
Gascony
Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...
. His family intended him for a career in the Church at the Sanctuary of Notre-Dame-de-Garaison (
Monléon-Magnoac
Monléon-Magnoac (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. It had 419 inhabitants in 2019.
See also
*Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional communit ...
), where he stayed until he was 17, receiving a solid musical education as a chorister and developing a remarkable
baritenor
Baritenor (also rendered in English-language sources as bari-tenor or baritenore) is a portmanteau (blend) of the words "baritone" and "tenor". It is used to describe both baritone and tenor voices. In ''Webster's Third New International Dictionar ...
voice. He was transferred to
Auch
Auch (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in southwestern France. Located in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers Departments of France, department.
Geography
Localiza ...
for a short while to study philosophy and work as a teacher before returning to Garaison to study theology.
[Fétis, op.cit.] In 1778, the canons of the convent gave Lays a grant to study for a doctorate in theology in
Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
. Lays was now determined to abandon a career in the Church and became increasingly active as a singer, joining the cathedral choir and accepting invitations to perform at local salons. In Toulouse, Lays formed a lifelong friendship with the young lawyer
Bertrand Barère
Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac (, 10 September 175513 January 1841) was a French politician, freemason, journalist, and one of the most prominent members of the National Convention, representing the Plain (a moderate political faction) during the ...
, the future French Revolutionary politician and member of the
Committee of Public Safety
The Committee of Public Safety () was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. Supplementing the Committee of General D ...
. Barère introduced Lays to the city's
Enlightenment
Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to:
Age of Enlightenment
* Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
circles. On Easter Sunday 1779, Lays was singing the liturgy in the cathedral when he was heard by the Intendant Royal of
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately .
History
...
. Following the recruitment practice then used by Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opéra), the Intendant decided to issue Lays with a royal ordinance (equivalent to a ''
lettre de cachet
''Lettres de cachet'' (; ) were letters signed by the king of France, countersigned by one of his ministers, and closed with the royal seal. They contained orders directly from the king, often to enforce actions and judgments that could not b ...
'') obliging him to travel to Paris for an audition.
Early career
Lays was immediately enrolled in the company as one of the lower male voices (known in France at the time as basse-tailles) and began a rapid ascent up the Opéra career ladder. He was first introduced to the Parisian public on 10 October 1779, singing the aria "Sous les lois de l'hymen" by
Pierre Montan Berton
Pierre Montan Berton (7 January 1727 – 14 May 1780) was a French people, French composer and conductor (music), conductor. He resided primarily in Paris and was an opera director.
Pierre's son Henri Montan Berton (1767–1844) was also a c ...
to great applause (it had been inserted into the ''
acte de ballet'' ''La Provençale'' by
Jean-Joseph Mouret
Jean-Joseph Mouret (11 April 1682 in Avignon – 10 December 1738 in Charenton-le-Pont) was a French composer whose dramatic works made him one of the leading exponents of Baroque music in his country. Even though most of his works are rarely per ...
and
Pierre-Joseph Candeille). He made his official debut on the 31st of the same month, playing Théophile in a revival of "Théodore", the second entrée from
Étienne-Joseph Floquet
Étienne-Joseph Floquet (23 November 174810 May 1785) was a French composer, mainly of operas. He was born in Aix-en-Provence and began his career by writing church music, before moving to Paris in 1767.Rushton There, Floquet made a name for himsel ...
's ''L'union de l'amour et des arts''. Having stepped in as a substitute in the role of Oreste in
Gluck
Christoph Willibald ( Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at ...
's ''
Iphigénie en Tauride
''Iphigénie en Tauride'' (, ''Iphigenia in Tauris'') is a 1779 opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck in four acts. It was his fifth opera for the French stage. The libretto was written by Nicolas-François Guillard.
With ''Iphigénie,'' Gluck too ...
'', in 1780 he was given the first new roles of his career: a follower of Morpheus in
Piccinni's ''
Atys''; the male protagonist in the unsuccessful ''acte de ballet'' ''Laure et Pétrarque'' by Candeille; and the bailiff in Floquet's ''Le seigneur bienfaisant'', Lays's first big success. Between 1780 and 1791, he was a member of two of the main musical institutions at court, the Concerts de la reine (the Queen's concerts)
and the King's Grand Couvert, soon becoming a favourite of the royal couple, and in particular of
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...
.
[Quéruel, ''Tableau chronologique'', pp. 165–171.]
His early career at the Opéra was quite turbulent. The institution at the time was seething with discontent: the artistes resented the fact their wages were only a third of those of the actors of the
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...
and the
Comédie-Italienne
Comédie-Italienne () or Théâtre-Italien () are French names which have been used to refer to Italian-language theatre and opera when performed in France.
The earliest recorded visits by Italian players were ''commedia dell'arte'' companies ...
; moreover, their pay was only partly fixed and permanent, the rest being linked to how frequently they appeared on stage and the size of their roles. The rebellious Lays soon became embroiled in a heated confrontation with the management, behaving almost like a modern union agitator, with the support of two singers who had joined the company around the same time, the
haute-contre
The ''haute-contre'' (plural ''hautes-contre'') was the primary French operatic tenor voice, predominant in French Baroque and Classical opera, from the middle of the seventeenth century until the latter part of the eighteenth century.
History ...
and the
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
Auguste-Athanase Chéron (1760–1829). In June 1781, fire destroyed the second hall of the Palais Royal, the home of the theatre, causing performances to be suspended. This left the singers with only their meagre basic salaries, so the three decided to remedy the situation by accepting engagements elsewhere, even though they were prohibited by law from doing so as salaried artistes of the Académie Royale de Musique. Rousseau alone managed to travel to
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
surreptitiously and appear at the
Théâtre de la Monnaie
The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...
, then the second most important French-speaking theatre in the world. Lays, however, was arrested on the evening of 20 August 1781, the day before he was due to set off, and spent ten days in prison. He was provisionally released on the 30th because he was indispensable for filling the haute-contre role of Cynire in a revival of Gluck's ''
Echo et Narcisse'' in the small hall of the
Menus-Plaisirs which acted as a substitute for the theatre which had burned down. His enormous popularity with the public, with an encore of the main aria and several curtain-calls, made it practically impossible to send him back to prison, although he was forced to sign a solemn undertaking that he would not leave Paris without the express permission of his superiors.
In 1782, the director of the Opéra,
Antoine Dauvergne
Antoine Dauvergne (3 October 1713 – 11 February 1797) was a French composer and violinist.
Dauvergne was born in Moulins, Allier. He served as master of the ''Chambre du roi'', director of the Concert Spirituel from 1762 to 1771, and direc ...
, was forced to resign his post and the management of the theatre was assumed by the artists acting as a kind of cooperative. The results were so disastrous that the former director had to be recalled in April 1785, although even then his relationship with the trio of rebel singers did not improve very much. In a report to his superiors, Dauvergne described Lays as the black sheep of the group, Rousseau as a "nice young man", if only he had spent less time in the company of Lays, and Chéron as another "nice young man" (with the mind of a twelve-year-old), but scared of the beating Lays and Rousseau had promised him if he betrayed their alliance. In the end, the three had to bow to pressure from the theatre management, although not before being promoted to "Premiers Sujets" (leading artistes), the highest rank in the company hierarchy.
Revolutionary era
A long-time
Freemason
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
and an avid reader of
Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher ('' philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects ...
, after the outbreak of the
French Revolution in 1789 Lays joined the
Jacobin Club
The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential List of polit ...
under the patronage of his old friend Barère. Lays was a passionate believer in the ideals of the Revolution, promoting them among the members of the Opéra company, which had been renamed Théatre des Arts. This was not enough, however, to prevent his arrest in 1792 as a suspected royalist, on the grounds that he had been a leading singer in the Queen's concerts and the Grand Couvert. Only the timely intervention of Barère secured his release after a single night in prison.
It was on Barère's prompting that Lays decided to return to his native Gascony in 1793 as a propagandist for the new
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...
. He was accompanied by his future wife, a young unemployed diamond-polisher named Marie Barbé.
In
Girondin
The Girondins (, ), also called Girondists, were a political group during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnards, they initiall ...
Bordeaux, his political alignment with the
Montagnards provoked such public hostility that he was forced to slip out of the city without even being able to complete his debut performance at the local theatre. Things went much better in his native region, the newly established département of
Hautes-Pyrénées
Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/ Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs ; alts piɾiˈneʊs ) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. The department is bordered by Pyrénées-Atlantiques to t ...
, where the Barère clan were politically dominant and where Lays received a hero's welcome. He returned to Paris in mid-July via Toulouse, thus avoiding the hostile Bordeaux. Back in the capital, he delivered a much applauded speech in front of the
Commune of Paris
The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended Par ...
.
[Michaud, op.cit.]
Lays's direct involvement in political life went little further than this, but, contrary to the claims of the brothers Michaud and Fétis, it was enough to cause him unpleasant repercussions when in 1794 the
coup of 9 Thermidor and the downfall of
Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre fer ...
radically changed the political situation. Lays was branded a "Terrorist actor" alongside other leading performers with a Revolutionary past, such as
Talma,
Dugazon and
Antoine Trial
Antoine Trial (13 October 1737, Avignon – 5 February 1795, Paris) was a French singer and actor. He was the younger brother of the musician Jean-Claude Trial (1732–1771) and husband of soprano Marie-Jeanne Milon, stage name Félicité Mandev ...
; and he was forced to try to defend himself by publishing a pamphlet entitled ''Lays, artiste du théatre des Arts, à ses concitoyens''. When a warrant was issued for the arrest of Barère and three of his colleagues from the Committee of Public Safety in March 1795, other associates were implicated in his downfall: Lays was arrested and imprisoned for about four months together with an old friend who had shared his political trajectory – although his role had been far more prominent – the painter
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
.
After his release on 3 July, Lays had to undergo the ritual humiliation the public was imposing on the "Terrorist actors": they were forced to sing the anti-Jacobin hymn ''"Le Réveil du Peuple"'', which had just been set to music by a tenor from the
Théâtre Feydeau
The Théâtre Feydeau (), a former Parisian theatre company, was founded in 1789 with the patronage of Monsieur, Comte de Provence (later to become Louis XVIII), and was therefore initially named the Théâtre de Monsieur. It began performing in ...
,
Pierre Gaveaux
Pierre Gaveaux (6 October 1760 – 5 February 1825) was a French operatic tenor and composer, notable for creating the role of Jason in Cherubini's ''Médée'' and for composing ''Léonore, ou L'amour conjugal'', the first operatic version of the ...
, and which seemed destined to replace the
Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. It was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by the First French Republic against Austria, and was originally titled "".
The French Nati ...
as the main Republican anthem. Antoine Trial, a colleague of Gaveaux from the
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...
who was then in his sixties, had been forced to sing the new hymn kneeling on stage to boos, whistles and jeers from the audience, and had never recovered from the experience, eventually taking his own life with poison. Quéruel writes Lays managed to avoid making his return to the stage in ''Iphigénie en Tauride'', in which his character Oreste sang lines which were a little too suggestive coming from an ex-"Terrorist": "J'ai trahi l'amitié, j'ai trahi la nature/Des plus noirs attentats, j'ai comblé la mesure" ("I have betrayed friendship, betrayed Nature/I have gone to the extreme of blackest deeds"). On the other hand, according to the memoirs of Count , it was indeed in the role of Oreste that Lays sought to return to the stage. However, the implacable hostility of the audience prevented him from singing a single note and, after an hour of fruitless efforts, he eventually had to be replaced by an understudy. His actual reappearance then took place in a revival of
Sacchini's ''
Œdipe à Colone
() is an operatic tragédie lyrique by Antonio Sacchini first performed at Versailles on 4 January 1786 in the presence of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The libretto, by Nicolas-François Guillard, is based on the play ''Oedipus at Colonu ...
'', in which he sang the far less controversial character of King Theseus. Even then, things did not go smoothly: the audience booed and protested throughout the performance, although this time he was not prevented from completing it. At the end, the leading tenor
Étienne Lainez
Étienne Lainez (or Lainé, Laînez) (23 May 1753 – 15 September 1822) was a French operatic tenor, and leading figure at the Paris Opera for over thirty years. In the course of his career there he created many tenor roles including Rodrigue in ...
returned onto the proscenium to sing, as usual, ''Le Réveil du Peuple'', but he was shouted down and forced to take refuge in the wings. Lays was rowdily summoned back instead. Lainez accompanied his colleague on stage, hoping they would be allowed to sing together, but he was once more driven off by the furious audience, and Lays had to perform solo. No sooner had he managed to get through a couple of verses, however, than he too was driven off by booing, because the audience thought he was unworthy of the words he was singing. The unfortunate Lainez had to retake the stage for a third time to finish the performance. By the end of September, nevertheless, enthusiasm for such post-Revolutionary reprisals had abated and Lays was able to make a triumphant return as the Genius of Fire in
Salieri's ''
Tarare
Tarare is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. It lies on the Turdine river, 28 miles west-northwest of Lyon by rail.
History
The city was founded at the beginning of the 12th century, as the priory of Tarare by the Savigny ...
'', his debut in the role.
The Directory and Napoleonic era

Over the course of 15 years Lays had built a remarkable reputation as a singer. He had been a star at the court of the
Ancien Régime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for " ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
{{disambig ...
, before performing at the opening of the
Estates General at Versailles in 1789. Later he had sung several works by
Gossec at some of the grandest ceremonies of the French Revolution: he had performed in the ''
Te Deum
The ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...
'' at the
Fête de la Fédération
The (; ) was a massive holiday festival held throughout Kingdom of France, France in 1790 in honour of the French Revolution, celebrating the Revolution itself, as well as national unity.
It commemorated the revolution and events of 1789 which ...
on 14 July 1790; he had sung the funeral hymns when
Mirabeau's and
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
's mortal remains were transferred to the newly established
Panthéon
The Panthéon (, ), is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, Paris, Latin Quarter (Quartier latin), atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 ...
in 1791; and he had sung the ''Hymne à l'Être-suprême'' at the
Festival of the Supreme Being in June 1794.
So it was unsurprising that his career continued to thrive in the new political climate under the government of the
Directory. Lays was protected by the strong man of the new regime,
Paul Barras
Paul François Jean Nicolas, Vicomte de Barras (; 30 June 1755 – 29 January 1829), commonly known as Paul Barras, was a French politician of the French Revolution, and the main executive leader of the Directory regime of 1795–1799.
Earl ...
, and became friends with his mistress,
Josephine de Beauharnais
Josephine may refer to:
People
*Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer
Places
* Josephine, Texas, United States
*Josephine County, Oregon, a county located in the ...
, as well as the man who would become her husband, General
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
. With such patrons his position over the next two decades was secure.
In late 1795, Lays was named Professor of Singing at the newly opened
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 ...
. Four years later he resigned to avoid being involved in the quarrel then raging between the managements of the Conservatoire and the Opéra.
Quéruel credits Lays with teaching two future stars of the Opéra: Madame Chéron and Mademoiselle Armand. The latter is a possibility;
the former had begun her career in 1784 under the name Mademoiselle Dozon, and is thus unlikely to have attended the Conservatoire more than a decade later. Lays did play a part in promoting her early career: he had auditioned her when she was a young unknown in 1782 and had facilitated her studies, entrusting her to the best singing teachers available.
In January 1797, Lays enjoyed one of the biggest successes of his career when he sang the lead role in
Grétry's ''Anacréon chez Polycrate''. The takings from this opera (9,354 livres on the first night alone) helped rescue the disastrous finances of the Théâtre de la République et des Arts (as the Opéra had been renamed). If the quality of his voice was universally admired, his lack of physical elegance, his short and stocky build and the southern accent he never completely managed to lose predisposed Lays to comic rather than dramatic roles, particularly middle-aged
buffo
Opera buffa (, "comic opera"; : ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramma bernesc ...
characters, in which, "singing of love and good wine, he proved to be sublime". Anacreon was one such role. Lays played the character again in 1803 in the
opera Cherubini dedicated to the ancient Greek poet. A few decades later,
Castil-Blaze
François-Henri-Joseph Blaze, known as Castil-Blaze (1 December 1784 – 11 December 1857), was a French musicologist, music critic, composer, and music editor.
Biography
Blaze was born and grew up in Cavaillon, Vaucluse. He went to Paris ...
– referring to the work by Grétry – commented:
The opera sparkles with charming melodies; the role of Anacreon is the most beautiful, the most complete ever written for Lays, the marvellous sonority of whose voice was deployed so well in the ascending virtuoso passage "Prends, prends emporte mon or, mes trésors pour jamais." The trio "Livre ton cœur à l'espérance" makes a delightful impression." (Castil-Blaze, ''L' Académie impériale de musique (...) – De 1645 à 1855'', Paris, Castil-Blaze, 1855, II, p. 61)
The year 1798 was a turning point in Lays's private life: Marie Barbé, with whom he had been living for several years, gave birth to a daughter and Lays, to legitimise the child, decided to marry his companion, even though it was against his father's wishes. Old Lay was furious that his eldest child, who enjoyed a successful career, was marrying a foreign woman with no property. The couple went on to have four more children, including one son who would unwittingly cause Lays enormous grief.
In the same year, Lays politely refused Napoleon's invitation to join him on his
expedition to Egypt. Nevertheless, the pair remained on friendly terms and between 1801 and 1802, Lays – who had often performed in Josephine's salons – became chief singer of the Chapel Napoleon had established at the
Tuileries
The Tuileries Palace (, ) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was b ...
under the directorship of
Giovanni Paisiello
Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini.
Life
Paisiello was born i ...
. As such, three years later, on 2 December 1804, Lays was the lead soloist in the music accompanying Napoleon's coronation as emperor. The ensuing celebrations culminated at the
Hôtel de Ville on 16 December with Lays and Chéron singing the cantata ''Trasibule'', specially written for the occasion by
Henri-Montan Berton
Henri-Montan Berton (17 September 1767 – 22 April 1844) was a French composer, teacher, and writer, mostly known as a composer of operas for the Opéra-Comique.
Career
Henri-Montan Berton was born the son of Pierre Montan Berton.Charlton 2 ...
. In 1810, when Napoleon divorced Josephine and entered into a second marriage with the Austrian Archduchess
Marie Louise
Marie Louise or Marie-Louise is a French feminine given name, compound given name. In other languages, it may take one of several alternate forms:
* Maria Luiza (Bulgarian, Portuguese)
* Maria Luisa (Italian, Spanish)
* Maria Luise (German)
* Mari ...
, Lays was the obvious choice to perform at the wedding ceremony. Meanwhile, his stage activity continued unabated, and in 1807 he was also appointed to serve on the Opéra jury in charge of evaluating new works to be staged. Other members of the jury came and went, but Lays remained in office continuously until 1815.
Final years
At the fall of Napoleon in 1814, Lays was one of the Emperor's most prominent favourites, so when the allied armies entered Paris under the leadership of
Tsar Alexander I, he was understandably worried about his own future. On 2 April,
Talleyrand ordered the Opéra to mount a performance in honour of the tsar. The opera chosen, ''Le triomphe de Trajan'' by
Persuis and
Lesueur, had originally been given in 1807 to celebrate Napoleon's return to the capital. Not wanting to hurt the French public's feelings, Alexander requested a staging of
Spontini's ''
La vestale'' instead, an opera in which Lays always assumed the role of Cinna. At the end of the performance, the angry audience forced Lays – still dressed in his Roman toga – to return to the stage and recite some popular verses thanking the tsar for restoring the
Bourbons
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. A branch descended from ...
. According to the brothers Michaud, Alexander was moved to compassion by the sight of the terrified singer and sent one of his aides-de-camp on stage to reassure him.
The
first Restoration
The First Restoration was a period in French history that saw the return of the House of Bourbon to the throne, between the abdication of Napoleon in the spring of 1814 and the Hundred Days in March 1815. The regime was born following the victo ...
was quite mild and the only significant penalty Lays suffered was his dismissal from the former Chapelle Impériale with a resulting loss of income. When Napoleon returned to power for the so-called
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...
, Lays was inevitably reinstated in his post and he enthusiastically participated in the ''Te Deum'' of thanks. The
second Restoration of the Bourbons was more serious for Lays. At the express wish of
Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...
he was again expelled – this time for good – from the new Chapelle Royale, but in return, in 1816, he was named professor of declamatory singing at the École royale de Musique et de Déclamation, which had replaced the Conservatoire. The salary was indispensable to Lays because his gout meant he was no longer able to appear at the Opéra as regularly as he had done, leading to a drastic reduction in extra income.

In 1816, Lays had the satisfaction of enjoying one final triumph in the comic opera ''Le rossignol'' by
Louis-Sébastien Lebrun
Louis-Sébastien Lebrun (10 December 1764 in Paris - 27 June 1829 idem) was a French opera singer and composer.
Biography
As a tenor, he wrote the music of several operas and scenes on booklets, among others, of Charles-Guillaume Étienne, A ...
(1764–1829), set in the foothills of his native Pyrenees. Lays took one of his favourite stock parts, "a bailiff in his fifties, a lover of good food and beautiful young women, naive and credulous, convinced of his own powers of seduction. The audience, at first amused and then enthralled, gave him a standing ovation which cheered his heart." However, things subsequently took a turn for the worse. In 1817, the restored Intendant of the
Menus-Plaisirs du Roi
The Menus-Plaisirs du Roi () was, in the organisation of the France, French royal household under the Ancien Régime, the department of the Maison du Roi responsible for the "lesser pleasures of the King", which meant in practice that it was in ...
, Papillon de la Ferté abolished all additional emoluments granted by Napoleon, leaving the singer to survive on his meagre salary from the school of music and the minimum pay from the Opéra, at the very time when his son, stricken with tuberculosis, required expensive medical treatment and his four daughters needed money for their dowries. Lays turned to
Luigi Cherubini
Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethov ...
. Lays had repeatedly supported Cherubini when Napoleon had shown signs of dislike for the composer. Cherubini had now become one of the leading figures in the musical establishment under the Restoration. He immediately intervened on Lays's behalf, but all he could obtain from Ferté was the advice that the singer should go on a tour of the provinces as a way of supplementing his income.Having obtained leave of absence, Lays appeared in
Nancy (where performances were interrupted by the death of the leading soprano) and
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
, where Lays himself was obliged to interrupt them with disastrous effects on his finances: he had been unexpectedly summoned back to Paris on the pretext he was urgently needed for rehearsals of a new opera, ''Les jeux floraux''; in reality, the rehearsals only took place two months later. Lays then applied to the royal administration, insisting he should be granted some of the potential economic benefits provided by law, but, after the new opera's premiere, his demands received a blanket rejection. According to Quéruel, when he protested stridently about this decision, he was forced into unpaid leave from his theatrical activities in late 1818. He subsequently spent about two years of hardship, during which his need to provide a dowry for his eldest daughter Marie-Cécile forced him further into debt.
Quéruel relates that Lays was finally reinstated only on 9 January 1821, but this assertion cannot be accurate because the singer's name often appeared on the theatre bills in the meantime, for example the whole period between July 1819 and June 1820. Whatever the case, in response to his renewed demands for economic support, the administration granted him further leave to perform privately outside Paris. Lays went on a tour of the
Low Countries
The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
and also put on several performances of ''Anacréon chez Polycrate'' at the same Brussels Théâtre de la Monnaie to which he had tried to escape forty years earlier. The reviews from the local newspaper, the "Mercure belge", reported by Quéruel tell of a real triumph. On his return to Paris, however, he was greeted with disastrous news. It was now obvious that the singer had been targeted in high places: the Minister of the Maison du Roi, General
Jacques Alexandre Law de Lauriston, who was ultimately in charge of the theatre, had discovered he had not previously authorised the leave of absence granted to Lays and, regarding it as null and void, intended to sue him for damages for missing performances at the Opéra. The confrontation lasted for more than a year until, in 1823, the moment came for Lays to leave the Opéra after almost 45 years of outstanding service. The benefit concert, to which artistes were entitled on their retirement, took place on 1 May. The performance ended with ''Le rossignol'', during which almost all the stars who did not have roles in the opera paid homage to their respected and well-liked colleague by appearing on stage in the chorus. The first part of the concert saw the company of the
Théâtre-Français transfer to the Opéra for a revival of
Racine's tragedy ''
Athalie
''Athalie'' (, sometimes translated ''Athalia'') is a 1691 play, the final tragedy of Jean Racine, and has been described as the masterpiece of "one of the greatest literary artists known" and the "ripest work" of Racine's genius. Charles August ...
'', performed with incidental music and choruses by Gossec. The leading roles were taken by three star actors: Lays's old friend and political ally,
Talma; the great Racine specialist
Mademoiselle Duchesnois; and
Pierre Lafon. The "premiers sujets" of the Opéra sang as simple "coryphées" in the chorus. The takings were considerable, amounting to the remarkable sum of 14,000 francs. According to Quéruel, however, shortly afterwards a peremptory letter from the administration dated 1 June 1823 informed Lays of its intention to use the takings from the performance to make good the debts it claimed Lays owed it. It is not entirely clear, from Quéruel's account, how the issue was finally resolved. Whatever the case, the financial position of the singer and his family remained extremely precarious. He still kept his teaching post at the École royale de musique et de déclamation, but the salary and pension were clearly not enough for him to cope with his debts and live a comfortable life, and thus, in spite of his ailing health and his now worn-out voice, he was forced to accept engagements, however humiliating, from provincial companies, just to make ends meet. According to Quéruel, posters of the time show he worked as an understudy in a company in
Brest, a baritone in the choir of the
Dunkirk
Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
Opera, a reserve baritone in
Lille
Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
, a bass soloist in
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...
, and once more as a simple understudy at the
Metz
Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...
opera house.
In late 1825, however, Lays again took to the Opéra stage in a benefit concert for the great singer
Giuditta Pasta
Giuditta Angiola Maria Costanza Pasta (; 26 October 1797 – 1 April 1865) was an Italian opera singer. A soprano, she has been compared to the 20th-century soprano Maria Callas.
Career Early career
Pasta was born Giuditta Angiola Maria Costanz ...
. The show, held on 8 October, was a double bill: the final Paris performance of
Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer 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 ''Ro ...
's ''
Il crociato in Egitto
(''The Crusader in Egypt'') is an opera in two acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Gaetano Rossi. It was first performed at La Fenice theatre, Venice on 7 March 1824. The part of Armando was sung by the famous castrato, Giovanni Batt ...
'' followed by another revival of ''Le rossignol''. Meyerbeer's opera had previously been staged at the
Théâtre italien and was performed by an almost entirely Italian company led by Pasta and
Domenico Donzelli
Domenico Donzelli (2 February 1790 – 31 March 1873) was an Italian tenor with a robust voice who enjoyed an important career in Paris, London and his native country during the 1808-1841 period.
Biography
Donzelli can be regarded as an off ...
. In ''Le rossignol'', Lays once more played his favourite character of the bailiff, while the principal female role of Philis was taken by
Laure Cinti-Damoreau, a pupil of
Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...
, soon to become the leading lady in the composer's French operas.
New political developments did not bode well for Lays.
Charles X Charles X may refer to:
* Charles X of France (1757–1836)
* Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden
* Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title
See also
*
* King Charle ...
, who had come to the throne in 1824, named the
ultra-royalist
The Ultra-royalists (, collectively Ultras) were a Politics of France, French political faction from 1815 to 1830 under the Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon Restoration. An Ultra was usually a member of the nobility of high society who str ...
Sosthènes I de La Rochefoucauld as Director General of the Fine Arts. La Rochefoucauld had an aversion to Lays both as an inveterate supporter of the Revolution, and, in particular, for the ironic remarks the singer had made about his morality campaign, which included lengthening ballerinas' skirts and providing ancient statues with fig leaves. In 1826, La Rochefoucauld had the opportunity to demonstrate his dislike when Lays, realising that life in Paris was beyond his financial means, decided to leave his post as professor and retire to the provinces to be near his married eldest daughter. According to Quéruel. Lays, probably wanting to end his career of more than 40 years on a high note, sent the minister a petition signed by almost all the stars of the Opéra and backed by Cherubini, asking for another benefit concert, in addition to the one three years earlier, this time in aid of his son who was working as a ''saute-ruisseau at a notary's and whose legal studies Lays could not afford to maintain. Inevitably the request fell on deaf ears. Lays also asked for his pension to be recalculated, bearing in mind his years teaching at the conservatory. But this led to disputes to which the correspondence between Cherubini and La Rochefoucauld bears explicit testimony. In October, the former wrote:
I have the honour to inform you that Monsieur Lays has retired and is asking for his pension. There is no doubt that he has a right to such recompense. There is no need to tell you of the talent of this famous artist, whose career has been long and fruitful. His reputation, which has endured for half a century, makes all such talk superfluous. In the interests of the professor, I must add that it is the meagreness of his fortune more than his age which has forced him to ask for his pension. No longer able to live in the capital in the manner to which he is accustomed, his intention is to retire to somewhere in the provinces where he and his family will be able to live more comfortably.
A week later, having received no reply, Cherubini tried again:
Permit me to bring to your attention the services he has rendered to musical and dramatic art, and the regrettable situation in which he finds himself after such long services as well as having to provide for a large family.
No response having come from the administration, Quéruel claims that Cherubini made the courageous decision to use his discretionary powers and take personal responsibility for authorising a special performance whose takings would be divided equally between the Académie and Lays. Even if it is unclear what right the director of the École royale de musique et de déclamation had to make such a decision, the performance did in fact take place at the Opéra on 20 November 1826. The programme consisted of
Boieldieu's
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 ...
''
Le calife de Bagdad''; the second act of ''Anacréon chez Polycrate'', in which Lays played his most famous role for the last time; and the four-act pantomime-ballet ''Mars et Vénus, ou Les filets de Vulcain'' with music by
Jean Schneitzhöffer. However, the evening's takings of between 6,000 and 7,000 francs were markedly inferior to those Lays's presence on stage would once have guaranteed.
La Rochefoucauld's reply on the issue of the pension was delayed until January 1827, when he stated that Lays was not entitled to any pension increase with regard to his previous years of teaching, having already received the maximum provided for as a result of his theatrical activity, and having furthermore shared half the takings from an extra benefit performance. Meanwhile, Lays, his wife and unmarried daughters, had retired to
Ingrandes in the
Loire valley
The Loire Valley (, ), spanning , is a valley located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about . It is r ...
, where they joined his married daughter Marie-Cécile. Here he had already witnessed the death of his son Bertrand from consumption and was soon to see his wife stricken with paralysis. In his final years Lays spent his time singing hymns in local churches. He died aged 73 in 1831, leaving his wife and children the paltry sum of 1056 francs.
Artistic characteristics
As mentioned above, Lays's voice was classified as ''basse-taille'' in the Opéra company, a voice type which was initially roughly equivalent to the modern
bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three ...
, but by the latter half of the 18th century had come to designate all low male voices. According to the brothers Michaud, however, Lays "was not strictly a basse-taille, although he sometimes forced his voice downwards excessively to reach the lower notes, and he was listed among the company's leading basse-tailles", neither was he, contrary to some erroneous contemporary descriptions, a tenor: he was in fact "an admirable
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 ...
or ''concordant'', low, pure, sonorous and flexible, whose range and volume were amazing".
Irish tenor
Michael Kelly, who happened to hear him in the 1780s, wrote that "Monsieur Laisse" possessed "a fine baritone voice, with much taste and expression". The majority of modern authors share these opinions. According to
Elizabeth Forbes, for instance, he possessed a "voice, baritonal in quality, but which extended into the tenor range". In fact, his roles were mostly notated in the
bass clef
A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical staff. Placing a clef on a staff assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines or four spaces, whi ...
, but there are also cases where the
tenor clef
A clef (from French: 'key') is a Musical notation, musical symbol used to indicate which Musical note, notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical staff (music), staff. Placing a clef on a staff assigns a particular pitch ...
was preferred, such as the title role of ''Anacréon'' (1803) by Cherubini, or the role of Cinna in ''La Vestale'' (1807) by Spontini.
While there seems to have been no doubt about the great beauty of Lays's voice, which he was able to preserve throughout his career,
Fétis criticised his skill in managing it:
Spire Pitou draws readers' attention to this last point in his work on the Paris Opéra. Pitou was evidently unaware of Lays's attempted flight to Brussels in 1781 and the troubles of his final years, but his comments appear worthy of note nevertheless:
The number of 68 characters listed by Pitou is incomplete. In fact, the roles Lays created amount to at least 74 (cf next section). Moreover, this obviously does not include the roles Lays did not create directly (including those already mentioned, such as Thésée in Sacchini's ''Œdipe à Colone'', Oreste in ''Iphigénie en Tauride'' and Cynire in ''Echo et Narcisse'', both by Gluck, as well as Patrocle in the same composer's ''
Iphigénie en Aulide
''Iphigénie en Aulide'' (''Iphigeneia in Aulis (ancient Greece), Aulis'') is an opera in three acts by Christoph Willibald Gluck, the first work he wrote for the Paris stage. The libretto was written by François-Louis Gand Le Bland Du Roullet ...
'' and Figaro in ''
Le Mariage de Figaro'' by
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
).
[Michaud, ''op. cit.'' In fact, he sang the role in 1793 in an interminable ''tripatouillage'' (a confused rehash) which involved a complete performance of the ]comedy
Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium.
Origins
Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
by Beaumarchais
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French playwright and diplomat during the Age of Enlightenment. Best known for his three Figaro plays, at various times in his life he was also a watchmaker, invent ...
interspersed with Mozart's arias, duos, trios and choruses retranslated into French (Félix Gaiffe, ''Le Mariage de Figaro'', Amiens, Malfère, 1928, p. 129; accessible online a
Gallica – BNF
. Lays's contribution to the Opéra repertoire, which lasted over forty years, was astonishing, and the long duration of the singer's career and the good vocal form he maintained to the last suggest that Fétis's adverse judgement on his technical skills should be accepted only with caution.
Roles created
The following table contains a list of the roles created by François Lays in the course of his long career. The information is mostly taken from Spire Pitou in his book on the Paris Opéra cited in the bibliography.
References
Sources
* Aldino Aldini, ''Lays'', "The Musical World", XXXVI, 33, 14 August 1858, pp. 518–519 (accessible online a
Google Books
*
François-Joseph Fétis
François-Joseph Fétis (; 25 March 1784 – 26 March 1871) was a Belgian musicologist, critic, teacher and composer. He was among the most influential music intellectuals in continental Europe. His enormous compilation of biographical data in the ...
, ''Biographie universelle des musiciens et Bibliographie générale de la musique'' (Second edition), Paris, Didot, 1867, V, pp. 235–236 (accessible online a
Google Books
*
Elizabeth Forbes, ''Lays
ay, Lais François'', in
Stanley Sadie
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...
(ed.), ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes.
The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...
'', Grove (Oxford University Press), New York, 1997, II, pp. 1112–1113.
* Adolphe Jullien, ''1770–1790. L'Opéra secret au XVIIIe siècle'', Paris, Rouveyre, 1880 (accessible online a
Internet Archive
*
Théodore Lajarte
Théodore Lajarte (10 July 1826 – 20 June 1890) was a French musicologist, librarian, and composer.Huebner 1992.
Early years
Lajarte was born in Bordeaux. His full name has been given as Théodore Édouard Dufaure de Lajarte. He studied at t ...
, ''Bibliothèque Musicale du Théatre de l'Opéra. Catalogue Historique, Chronologique, Anecdotique'', Paris, Librairie des bibliophiles, 1878, Volume I (accessible online a
Internet Archive
*
Joseph-François Michaud
Joseph–François Michaud (; 19 June 1767 – 30 September 1839) was a French historian and publicist.
Biography
Michaud was born at either La Biolle or Albens in the Duchy of Savoy (then a part of the Holy Roman Empire and a possession of the ...
and
Louis-Gabriel Michaud
Louis-Gabriel Michaud (; 19 January 1773, Castle Richemont – 8 March 1858) was a French writer, historian, printer, and bookseller. He was notable as the compiler of ''Biographie Universelle'' (1811–).
Life
He became a lieutenant on 15 Jul ...
, ''Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne. Supplément. Suite de l'histoire ...'', Paris, Michaud, 1841, LXIX, pp. 486–488 (accessible online a
Google Books
* Anne Quéruel
''François Lay, dit Laÿs: la vie tourmentée d'un Gascon à l'Opéra de Paris'' Cahors, La Louve, 2010.
* Spire Pitou, ''The Paris Opéra. An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers – Rococo and Romantic, 1715–1815'', Westport/London, Greenwood Press, 1985.
*''This article contains material translated from the
equivalent article in the Italian Wikipedia.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lays, Francois
1758 births
1831 deaths
French operatic tenors
French operatic baritones
18th-century French male opera singers
19th-century French male opera singers
People from Hautes-Pyrénées
People of the Reign of Terror
Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris