Guy Fouché (17 June 1921 – 28 May 1998) was a French operatic

lyric 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 mi ...

Life

Born in Bordeaux, Fouché graduated from the Conservatoire de Bordeaux with the First Prize in

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

and

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 ...

. He began his career at the

Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation) ...

in 1942 in Bizet's ''

Les Pêcheurs de perles ' (, ''The Pearl Fishers'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performan ...

''. He also obtained a second prize at the

Conservatoire de Paris 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 ...

in 1943. From 1945 to 1953, he performed in French opera houses, including those of Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nantes, Rennes and Bordeaux. In 1953, he was 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 ...

. From 1954 to 1956, he was part of the troupe of the

Opéra Royal de Wallonie The Opéra royal de Wallonie (, ) is an opera house located on the Place de l'Opéra, in Liège, Belgium. Together with La Monnaie and the Vlaamse Opera, the ''Opéra royal'', as it is colloquially known, is one of the three major opera houses ...

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

before being, for six seasons, the first tenor at

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 ...

in Brussels. Back in Oran, he sang the title role of ''

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 ...

''. In 1961, he moved to

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

where he ended his career two years later.

Quotes

Discography

;Complete * Berlioz's ''

La Damnation de Faust ''La Damnation de Faust'' (English: ''The Damnation of Faust''), Op. 24 is a French musical composition for four solo voices, full seven-part chorus, large children's chorus and orchestra by the French composer Hector Berlioz. He called it a ' ...

'' (Faust) ** with

Ninon Vallin Eugénie "Ninon" Vallin (8 September 1886 22 November 1961) was a French lyric soprano who achieved considerable popularity in opera, operetta and classical song recitals during an international career that lasted for more than four decades. ...

- Pléiade P3082 (33 rpm) ** with

Régine Crespin Régine Crespin (23 February 1927 – 5 July 2007) was a French soprano who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto sopran ...

Michel Roux Michel Roux, OBE (; 19 April 1941 – 11 March 2020), also known as Michel Roux Snr., was a French chef and restaurateur working in Britain. Along with his brother Albert Roux, Albert, he opened Le Gavroche, which subsequently became the first ...

, Peter Van Der Bilt - BellaVoce BLV107.202 (CD) * Donizetti's ''

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 ...

'' (Fernand), with Simone Couderc, Charles Cambon, choir and

Pasdeloup Orchestra The Pasdeloup Orchestra (also referred to as Orchestre des Concerts Pasdeloup) is the oldest symphony orchestra in France. History Founded in 1861 by Jules Pasdeloup with the name Concerts Populaires, it is the oldest orchestra still in existe ...

, Jean Allain (dir.) - Pléiade P3071 / Vega 28000 - recorded in 1962 * Massenet's ''

Hérodiade ''Hérodiade'' is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Paul Milliet and Henri Grémont, based on the novella ''Hérodias'' (1877) by Gustave Flaubert. It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels ...

'' (Jean), with Andréa Guiot, Mimi Aarden, Charles Cambon, Germain Guislain, Jos Burcksen, Corneluis Kalkman - Malibran CDRG 191 (CD). * Meyerbeer's ''

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 '' ...

'' (Raoul de Nangis), with Renée Doria, Jeanne Rinella,

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), ...

, Adrien Legros, Académie chorale de Paris,

, Jean Allain (dir.) - Pléiade P3085/86 (33 rpm) - recorded in 1953 at the Théâtre de l'Apollo reissued CD Accord 204592 * Verdi's ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'' (Duke of Mantoue), with Renée Doria, Ernest Blanc,

Denise Scharley Denise Scharley (born Neuilly-en-Thelle, 15 February 1917 – died Versailles (city), Versailles, 26 July 2011) was a French contralto who made her debut in 1942, singing ''Pelléas et Mélisande (opera), Pelléas et Mélisande'' at the Opéra-C ...

, Gérard Bourreli, Maria Valetti, Maurice Faure, André Dumas, Pierre Cruchon director - Pléiade P3076 (33 rpm) - French version ; Extracts * Puccini's ''

La Bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'', aria of Rodolphe ''Que cette main est froide'' (act I) - Pléiade P45152 (

Extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

) - French version * Verdi's ''

'', arias of the Duke of Mantoue ''Qu'une belle'' (act I) and ''Comme la plume au vent'' (act III) - Pléiade P45152 (45 rpm) - French version

References

External links

Guy Fouché
on Forgotten opera singer
Les Huguenots, Acte II, Scène 1: Ô ciel, où suis-je ? Beauté divine et enchanteresse
(YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fouche, Guy 1921 births 1998 deaths Musicians from Bordeaux Conservatoire de Paris alumni French operatic tenors 20th-century French male opera singers