Willy Clément (born in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

on 19 July 1918, died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on 7 March 1965) 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 ...

who was noted in light baritone roles and operetta.Caubert A. Portrait - notes for INA memoire vive CD 064, Paris, 2006.

Life and career

Clément came to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at a young age, and entered 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 November 1938, in the classes of

Claire Croiza Claire Croiza (14 September 1882 – 27 May 1946) was a French mezzo-soprano and an influential teacher of singers. Career Claire Croiza (née Conelly, or O'Connolly) was born in Paris, the daughter of an expatriate American father and an Italia ...

(singing), Georges Viseur (theory), and Vanni Marcoux (stage declamation). Due to the war, he completed his studies in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, and graduated in July 1941, joining the Théâtre des Quatre Saisons Provinciales and singing at the

Lyon Opera Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

in the 1942–43 and 1943-44 seasons. He made his debut as Martin in ''Le Chemineau'' by

Xavier Leroux Xavier Henry Napoleón Leroux (; 11 October 1863 – 2 February 1919) was a French composer and a teacher at the Paris Conservatory. He was married to the famous soprano Meyrianne Héglon (1867–1942). Life Born in Italy at Velletri, 30 ...

. In 1944 he made what was the first of many radio broadcasts, as Pippo in ''

La Mascotte ''La mascotte'' (''The Mascot'') is a three-act opéra comique with music by Edmond Audran and words by Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot. The story concerns a farm girl who is a "mascotte": someone with the mystic power to bring good luck to all arou ...

''. He was engaged by 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 ...

in Paris, and made his debut on 1 April 1945 in ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'' (Figaro), a role he sang often in Paris and around France. He also sang Marcel in ''

La Boheme LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

'' (1946), Nicklauss in ''

Les Contes d'Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

'', Frédéric in ''

Lakmé ''Lakmé'' is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the '' Opéra-Comique'' at the (second) Salle Fa ...

'', and Pelléas. The latter role took him on tour with the Opéra-Comique to Geneva, Vienna, Strasbourg and Baden-Baden. He later added Ange Pitou (''

La fille de Madame Angot ''La fille de Madame Angot'' (, ''Madame Angot's Daughter'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq with words by Clairville (Louis-François Nicolaïe), Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning. It was premiered in Brussels in ...

''), '' Monsieur Beaucaire'' and Henri de Valois (''

Le roi malgré lui ''Le roi malgré lui'' (''The King in Spite of Himself'' or ''The Reluctant King'') is an opéra-comique in three acts by Emmanuel Chabrier of 1887 with an original libretto by Emile de Najac and Paul Burani. The opera is revived occasionally, b ...

''). Clément sang in the French premieres of ''

The Rape of Lucretia ''The Rape of Lucretia'' (Op. 37) is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, written for Kathleen Ferrier, who performed the title role. Ronald Duncan based his English libretto on André Obey's play '. Performance history The opera wa ...

'' (Mulhouse, 1948) and ''

The Love for Three Oranges ', Op. 33, is a 1921 satirical French-language opera by Sergei Prokofiev. He wrote his own libretto, basing it on the Italian play '' L'amore delle tre melarance'', or ''The Love for Three Oranges'' ( ''Lyubov k tryom apyelsinam'') by Carlo Goz ...

'' (Monte Carlo, 1952). He also took part in the first opera programme on French television in April 1946 in the ''Barber of Seville'', and followed this with more TV appearances. For the B.B.C. Third Programme he sang in a studio performance of ''

Le Docteur Miracle ''Le docteur Miracle'' (''Doctor Miracle'') is an opérette in one act by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto, by Léon Battu and Ludovic Halévy, is based on Sheridan's play ''Saint Patrick's Day''. Bizet wrote the work when he was ...

'', alongside Nadine Renaux,

Marjorie Westbury Marjorie Westbury (18 June 1905 – 16 December 1989) was an English radio actress and singer. Her career lasted for more than fifty years. Born in Oldbury, Worcestershire, she studied Voice at the Royal College of Music in London between 1927 ...

and

Alexander Young Alexander Young may refer to: *Alexander Young (bishop) (died 1684), 17th century Scottish prelate *Alexander Young (engineer) (1833–1910), Scottish engineer and businessman who became a citizen of the Kingdom of Hawaii *Alexander Young (musician ...

, conducted by Stanford Robinson. He sang in the premiere of

Marcel Landowski Marcel François Paul Landowski (18 February 1915 – 23 December 1999) was a French composer, biographer and arts administrator. Biography Born at Pont-l'Abbé, Finistère, Brittany, he was the son of French sculptor Paul Landowski and gre ...

's ''L'Opéra de Poussière'', the first 'world premiere' in the history of the Avignon Opera in 1962,France – report from Avignon. ''

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 ...

'', December 1962, p815. He appeared at many French provincial theatres and those in francophone countries, including the Grand Théâtre in Geneva (de Langeac in ''

Les saltimbanques ''Les saltimbanques'' (''The Acrobats'') is an opéra-comique in three acts, libretto by Maurice Ordonneau, music by Louis Ganne, first performed at the Théâtre de la Gaîté, Paris, on 30 December 1899. In the third act a ballet entitled ''Le ...

'' in 1963 and Duparquet in '' Ciboulette'' in 1964), having sung at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

in 1951 alongside Fanély Revoil. He left many recordings of opéras-comiques and operettas, including '' Ciboulette'', '' Véronique'', ''Au soleil du Mexique'', '' Le petit duc'' and '' La Vie parisienne''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Willy 1918 births 1965 deaths French operatic baritones Singers from Cairo 20th-century French male opera singers Egyptian emigrants to France