Joseph Rouleau
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Joseph A. Rouleau, (February 28, 1929 – July 12, 2019) was a French Canadian bass opera singer, particularly associated with the Italian and French repertoires.


Life and career

Born in
Matane Matane is a town on the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, Canada, on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Matane River. The town is the seat for the La Matanie Regional County Municipality. In addition to Matane itself, th ...
,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, he studied privately with Édouard Woolley and Albert Cornellier in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, and at the
Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (CMQM) is a music conservatory located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In addition to the Montreal region, the school takes in students from nearby cities, including Granby, Joliette, St-Jean, S ...
with
Martial Singher Martial Singher (August 14, 1904 – March 9, 1990) was a French baritone opera singer born in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Initially singing only as a hobby, he was encouraged by then French education minister Édouard Herriot ...
. In 1950-1951, Joseph participated in his first tour with Jeunesses Musicales Canada, of 40 concerts across the province of Québec. He went to
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, Italy, for complementary studies with Mario Basiola and Antonio Narducci. He sang small roles with the Opéra national du Québec, but his real debut was as Colline in ''
La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giusep ...
'', in
New Orleans Opera Opera has long been part of the musical culture of New Orleans, Louisiana. Operas have regularly been performed in the city since the 1790s, and since the early 19th century, New Orleans has had a resident company regularly performing opera in ad ...
, in 1955. He made his Opera Guild of Montreal debut as Philip II in ''
Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...
'' (one of his greatest roles) in 1956. He also appeared in concert and on Canadian radio and television. Engaged by the
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...
in London, Rouleau sang with the company in Cardiff, Manchester, and Southampton prior to his London debut as Colline on 23 April 1957. Leading roles followed in over 40 productions there during the next 20 years. His Count Rodolfo in Bellini's ''
La Sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...
'' in 1960 with Joan Sutherland, led to a collaboration with the soprano which included his debut at 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 k ...
that year as Raimondo in ''
Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoo ...
'' and a 1965–66 Australian tour during which he won high praise particularly for his Assur in Rossini's ''
Semiramide ''Semiramide'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy ''Semiramis'', which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Assyria. The opera was first performed at La Feni ...
''. A consummate actor and musician, Rouleau sang a wide range of roles, he expanded his repertoire to include German and Russian roles, notably Titurel in ''
Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...
'', and the lead in '' Boris Godunov''. He also won considerable acclaim as ''
Don Quichotte ''Don Quichotte'' (''Don Quixote'') is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn. It was first performed on 19 February 1910 at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Massenet's ''comédie-héroïque'', like many dramatiz ...
'', and Mephistofeles in ''
Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...
''. In 1976, he participated for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, in a performance of the complete French version of ''Don Carlos'', singing Philippe II. He made his debut at the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...
on April 13, 1984, as the Grand Inquisitor in ''Don Carlos'', under
James Levine James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 1 ...
. From 1987 he appeared in concerts and recitals with accompanist Pierre Brabant. Many of their recitals together were devoted to the music of
Félix Leclerc Félix Leclerc, (August 2, 1914 – August 8, 1988) was a French-Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, writer, actor and '' Québécois'' political activist. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 20, 1968. Leclerc was posth ...
. In 1977, Rouleau was made an officer of the
Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...
, and was promoted to companion of the Order of Canada in 2010. In 1999, he was made an officer of the
National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governo ...
was promoted to grand officer in 2004. In 1990, he was awarded the Prix Denise-Pelletier award of the Prix du Québec. Rouleau was the recipient of a
Governor General's Performing Arts Award A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in 2004. Rouleau was chosen as the mentor in the 2014 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards' Mentorship Program in which a mid-career artist is paired with a past Governor General's Performing Arts Awards recipient. The mentor and protégé learn from each other's experiences. Rouleau mentored tenor Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure. He was also active as a teacher at the
Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Qué ...
, where he founded an opera workshop, in collaboration with soprano Colette Boky. He died in Montreal on July 12, 2019.Le chanteur lyrique Joseph Rouleau s'est éteint


Selected recordings

* ''Semiramide'' – Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Joseph Rouleau, John Serge, Spiro Malas – Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge – DECCA (1965) * ''Don Carlos'' – Edith Tremblay, , André Turp, Robert Savoie, Joseph Rouleau, Richard Van Allan – BBC Orchestra and Chorus, John Matheson – PONTO (1975)


Sources

* ''The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada'', Gilles Bryant, Florence Hayes, Gilles Potvin


External links


Joseph Rouleau
at
The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rouleau, Joseph 1929 births 2019 deaths French Quebecers 20th-century Canadian male opera singers Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal alumni Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Companions of the Order of Canada Operatic basses People from Matane Prix Denise-Pelletier winners Academic staff of the Université du Québec à Montréal Governor General's Award winners