Louis Guéymard (17 August 1822 – July 1880) was a French

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 ...

tic

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 Chaponnay, his parents were farmers and he worked on his family's farm until the age of 19. He then received voice training at the

Opéra National de Lyon The Opéra National de Lyon (), marketed as Opéra de Lyon during the last decade, is an opera company in Lyon, based and performing mostly at the Opéra Nouvel, an 1831 theater that was modernized and architecturally transformed in 1993. Histo ...

. He made his opera debut there in 1845 and then pursued further voice studies 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 ...

from 1846–1848.Gueymard Biography at operissimo.com
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Biography

In 1848 Guéymard became a leading tenor 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 ...

where he sang until 1868. He created roles in several world premieres with that company, including Philippe d'Autriche in Louis Clapisson's ''Jeanne la folle'' (1848), Jonas in

Giacomo 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 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart and Richard Wa ...

's ''

Le prophète ''Le prophète'' (''The Prophet'') is a grand opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, which was premiered in Paris on 16 April 1849. The French-language libretto was by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, after passages from the ''Essay on the ...

'' (1849), Phaon in

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's '' Sapho'' (1851), Rodolphe in Armand Limnander's ''Le maître chanteur'' (1853), Rodolphe in Gounod's ''

La nonne sanglante ''La nonne sanglante'' (''The Bloody Nun'') is a five-act opera by Charles Gounod to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne, after an episode in '' The Monk'', a gothic novel by Matthew Gregory Lewis. Written between 1852 and 1854, i ...

'' (1854), Henri in

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

's ''

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'' (1855),

Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera ''La Juive''. Early career Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...

's ''La magicienne'' (1858), Julien de Médicis in

Józef Michał Poniatowski Józef Michał Poniatowski (Rome, 24 July 1814 – London, 4 July 1873) was a Polish ''szlachcic'', a composer and an operatic tenor. He was the nephew of the Polish general Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski. Early life Jozef Michal Poniatow ...

's ''Pierre de Médicis'' (1860), Adoniram in Gounod's ''

La reine de Saba ''La reine de Saba'' ('' The Queen of Sheba'') is a grand opera in four or five acts by Charles Gounod to a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré inspired by Gérard de Nerval's ''La Reine de Saba'', in '' Le voyage en Orient''. It was premi ...

'' (1862), and Roland in Auguste Mermet's ''Roland à Roncevaux'' (1864). On the international stage Guéymard was a guest artist at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

in London in 1854. He also appeared at the

French Opera French opera is both the art of opera in France and opera in the French language. It is one of Europe's most important operatic traditions, containing works by composers of the stature of Rameau, Berlioz, Gounod, Bizet, Massenet, Debussy, Ra ...

in New Orleans in the 1873–1874 season. Other roles in Guéymard's repertoire included Arnold in ''

William Tell William Tell (, ; ; ; ) is a legendary folk hero of Switzerland. He is known for shooting an apple off his son's head. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albrecht Gessler, ...

'', Jean de Leyde in ''Le prophète'', both Manrico and Ruiz in '' Il trovatore'', Rodolfo in ''

Luisa Miller ''Luisa Miller'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play '' Kabale und Liebe'' (''Intrigue and Love'') by the German dramatist Friedrich von Schiller. Verdi's initial idea f ...

'', Tebaldo in ''

I Capuleti e i Montecchi ''I Capuleti e i Montecchi'' (''The Capulets and the Montagues'') is an Italian opera (''tragedia lirica'') in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini. The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of ''Romeo and Juliet'' for an opera by Nicol ...

'', and the title role in ''Robert le diable''. Guéymard married Belgian opera singer

Pauline Guéymard-Lauters Pauline Guéymard-Lauters (1 December 1834 – 10 May 1918) was a major opera singer in Paris in the 19th century, creating important soprano/mezzo-soprano roles at the Opera de Paris, Paris Opera.

in 1858, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1868. He died in

Corbeil-Essonnes Corbeil-Essonnes () on the River Seine is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Although neighboring Évry is the official seat of the Arrondissement of Évry, the sub-prefecture buildin ...

at the age of 57.

Gallery

File:Guémart dans La nonne sanglante.jpg, In '' The Bloody Nun''
Drawing by Lacauchie
(1854) File:Louis Gueymard - 1857 Etienne Carjat - Gallica 101225.jpg, Caricature of Guéymard
by

Étienne Carjat Étienne Carjat (; 28 March 1828 – 8 March 1906) was a French journalist, caricaturist and photographer. He co-founded the magazine ''Le Diogène'', and founded the review . He is best known for his numerous portraits and caricatures of po ...

(1857) File:Louis Gueymard - Disdéri (1864) - Gallica 101225.jpg, Photograph
by Disdéri
(1864)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gueymard, Louis 1822 births 1880 deaths People from Rhône (department) French operatic tenors 19th-century French male opera singers Conservatoire de Paris alumni