Louis Noguéra was a French bass-baritone (born in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

on 12 October 1910, died in Paris on 8 March 1984 Kutsch, K. J. and

Riemens, Leo Leonardus Antony Marinus Riemens (3 December 1910 – 3 April 1985) was a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist. He wrote a book about Maria Callas, and together with Karl-Josef Kutsch began a reference book about opera singers in 1962, which ...

(2003). ''

Großes Sängerlexikon ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The fi ...

'' (fourth edition, in German). Munich: K. G. Saur, . .) who enjoyed a long career in Paris—principally 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 kn ...

and

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 ...

but also elsewhere in France and abroad, and who left some recordings representative of his repertoire.

Life and career

Born Louis Claver, his career commenced in 1935, as a knight in ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is freely based on the 13th-century Middle High German chivalric romance ''Parzival'' of th ...

'', at the Opéra.L'Art Lyrique website
accessed 15 December 2015. During his career at the Palais Garnier, Noguéra went on to sing roles such as Wagner 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 ...

'', the pilot in ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is a music drama in three acts by Richard Wagner set to a German libretto by the composer, loosely based on the medieval 12th-century romance ''Tristan and Iseult'' by Gottfried von Stras ...

'', the Nightwatchman and Beckmesser in ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

'', Apollo in '' Alceste'' (Gluck), Torello in ''

Monna Vanna ''Monna Vanna'' () is an unfinished opera by Sergei Rachmaninoff after a play by Maurice Maeterlinck. Rachmaninoff had completed Act I in short vocal score, with piano accompaniment, and then he went to ask for permission to set the text in a ful ...

'', several parts in Mârouf, savetier du Caire, Phorbas in '' Œdipe'', Alberich in ''

Das Rheingold ''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86A, is the first of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nib ...

'', the Grand Prêtre de Moloch in ''

Salammbô ''Salammbô'' is an 1862 historical novel by Gustave Flaubert. It is set in Carthage immediately before and during the Mercenary Revolt (241–237 BCE). Flaubert's principal source was Book I of the '' Histories'', written by the Greek hist ...

'', the title role in ''

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 ...

'', Faninal in ''

Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from Louvet de Couvrai's novel ''Les amours du cheva ...

'', Masetto and Leporello 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 ...

'', Papageno in ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'', Iago in ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...

'', and Ali in ''

Les Indes galantes is a ''ballet héroïque'', a type of Baroque music#Late baroque music (1680–1750), French Baroque opera-ballet, by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Louis Fuzelier. In its final form it comprised an allegory, allegorical prologue and fou ...

''. His debut at the Opéra-Comique came in 1945 with Escamillo in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'', and he took part in the premiere of Busser's ''Carosse du Saint Sacrement'', and continued at the Salle Favart for over 20 years where his other roles included Guglielmo in ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'', Lescaut in ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was f ...

'', Ourrias in ''

Mireille Mireille () is a French given name, derived from the Provençal Occitan name ''Mirèio'' (or ''Mirèlha'' in the classical norm of Occitan, ). It could be related to the Occitan verb ''mirar'' "to look, to admire" or to the given names ''Miriam'' " ...

'' and the title role in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

''.Wolff S. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900–1950).'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953, p312. In 1949 he appeared as Shylock in a revival of Reynaldo Hahn's ''

Le marchand de Venise ''Le Marchand de Venise'' (''The Merchant of Venice'') is a French opera in three acts by Reynaldo Hahn. The libretto was by Miguel Zamacoïs, after Shakespeare's '' The Merchant of Venice''. Hahn first started working on the opera during the First ...

'' alongside

Denise Duval Denise Duval (23 October 192125 January 2016) was a French soprano, best known for her performances in the works of Francis Poulenc on stage and in recital. During an international career, Duval created the roles of Thérèse in '' Les mamelles de ...

Jean Giraudeau Jean Giraudeau (1 July 1916, in Toulon – 7 February 1995), was an artist and French tenor,Obituary: Jean Giraudeau. ''Opera'', June 1995, Vol.46, No.6, p671. and later theatre director, particularly associated with the Opéra-Comique in Paris, ...

, Louis Froumenty, and Huc-Santana, conducted by D.-E. Inghelbrecht. In ''La Basoche'' at

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

in 1954, he sang with

Nadine Renaux Nadine Renaux (13 July 1912, Villeurbanne – 22 January 2005) was a French soprano, active in opera and operetta in FranceGourret J. ''Dictionnaire des Cantatrices de l'Opéra.'' Editions Albatros, Paris, 1987, p179. from the 1930s to the 1960s. ...

and

Pierre Mollet Pierre Mollet (23 March 1920, Neuchâtel - 27 October 2007) was a Canadian operatic baritone. He was born in Switzerland. He became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1974 and in 1979, he married the Canadian pianist Suzanne Blondin. Mollet was tra ...

, conducted by Albert Wolff. In December 1965 he was the producer of the premiere performances of ''La Princesse de Clèves'' by

Jean Françaix Jean René Désiré Françaix (pronunciation Fran-say or Fran-seks) was born on 23 May 1912, in Le Mans and died in 25 September 1997, in Paris). Françaix was a French neoclassical composer, pianist, and orchestrator known for his prolific outp ...

at Rouen's Théâtre des Arts (libretto by the composer and Marc Lanjean); Genevieve Marcaux and Marcel Huylbrock played the lovers, with

Jacques Jansen Jacques Jansen (né Toupin; born Paris, 22 November 1913 – 13 March 2002) was a French ''baryton-martin'' singer, particularly associated with the role of Pelléas in the opera by Debussy, but also active in operetta and on the concert platfor ...

as the discreet husband, conducted by Pierre-Michel Le Conte.Wolff, Stéphane. France in 23 Scenes. ''

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 ...

'', March 1966, p230. Outside France he sang at Covent Garden in London in 1937, and in Belgium and Italy. He was professor of singing at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1955 to 1979.

Recordings

Noguéra participated in recordings of baroque motets by N Bernier, M-A Charpentier, and C-H Gervais conducted by Louis Martini for Pathé in 1957. He sang Nourabad in the complete studio recording of ''

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 ...

'' in 1954 with Opéra-Comique forces under

André Cluytens Augustin Zulma Alphonse "André" Cluytens (, ; 26 March 19053 June 1967)Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. was a Belgian-born French conducting, conductor who was active in the conce ...

, and as Yorloff in excerpts from the same composer's ''

Ivan IV Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. ...

'' in 1957 under Georges Tzipine. With Cluytens conducting he also took part in complete recordings of ''

L'Enfance du Christ ''L'Enfance du Christ'' (''The Childhood of Christ''), Opus 25, is an oratorio by the French composer Hector Berlioz, based on the Holy Family's flight into Egypt (see Gospel of Matthew 2:13). Berlioz wrote his own words for the piece. Most of it ...

'' in 1950 for Pathé, and the Fauré Requiem, op. 48, in 1950 for Columbia. In a complete recording (later extended highlights) from ''

La Périchole ''La Périchole'' () is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The opera depicts the mutual love of two impoverished Peruvian street singers – too poor to afford a marriage ...

'' under

Igor Markevich Igor Borisovich Markevitch (, ''Igor Borisovich Markevich'', , ''Ihor Borysovych Markevych''; 27 July 1912 – 7 March 1983) was a Russian composer and conductor who studied and worked in Paris and became a naturalized Italian and French citiz ...

in 1958 he sang Don Andrès.Discographical data from The CHARM Discography, Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music, , accessed 8 October 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noguera, Louis 1910 births 1984 deaths 20th-century French male opera singers Emigrants from French Algeria to France Musicians from Algiers Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris