Agustarello Affré
Encyclopedia
Agustarello Affré was a French opera
tic tenor
. He possessed a powerful and firm voice which garnered him the nickname the "French Tamagno
" in comparison to the great Italian tenor. He was one of the leading operatic tenors in Paris from 1890-1911. He spent the last years of his career singing and directing operas in the United States. After World War I
he lived in retirement in France.
, Affré was trained at the Conservatoire de Toulouse and the Conservatoire de Paris
. He studied singing with Edmond Duvernoy
and Pierre Gailhard. After singing in theatres in the French provinces, he made his debut in Paris at the Opéra
in 1890 as Edgardo in Gaetano Donizetti
's Lucia di Lammermoor
opposite Nellie Melba
in the title role, who also made her debut. He remained a leading tenor at that opera house for the next 20 years, portraying such roles as Arnold Melchtal in William Tell
, Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail
, the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto
, Eléazar in La Juive
, Fernand in La favorite
, Jean de Leyde in Le prophète
, Radames in Aida
, Raoul de Nangis in Les Huguenots
, Renaud in Gluck
's Armide
, Vasco da Gama in L'Africaine
, and the title roles in Lohengrin
and Sigurd
. He created the role of the Touranien prisoner in the world premiere of Jules Massenet
's Le mage
in 1891. In 1902 he sang the role of Canio in the French premiere of Ruggero Leoncavallo
's Pagliacci
in French.
Outside of Paris, Affré appeared as a guest artist at the Opéra de Marseille
, Opéra National de Lyon
, and the Théâtre du Grand Cercle in Aix-les-Bains. In 1900 he performed at La Monnaie
in Brussels. In 1909 he appeared at the Royal Opera House
in London as Samson in Samson et Dalila and in the title role of Gounod
's Faust
. He performed on some of the earliest opera recordings, including the roles of Don José in Georges Bizet
's Carmen
(1911) and Roméo in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette
(1913). In 1911 he moved to the United States where he was heard in operas in New Orleans, San Francisco, and in Havana. He became director of the French Opera House
in New Orleans in 1913 when it came under the ownership of Tulane University
, remaining there until the house burnt down in 1919. He died in Cagnes-sur-Mer
in 1931 at the age of 73. He is buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery
in Paris.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
. He possessed a powerful and firm voice which garnered him the nickname the "French Tamagno
Francesco Tamagno
Francesco Tamagno was an operatic tenor from Italy who sang with enormous success throughout Europe and America. On 5 February 1887, he cemented his place in musical history by creating the role of Otello in Giuseppe Verdi's masterpiece of the same name...
" in comparison to the great Italian tenor. He was one of the leading operatic tenors in Paris from 1890-1911. He spent the last years of his career singing and directing operas in the United States. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he lived in retirement in France.
Life and career
Born in Saint-ChinianSaint-Chinian
Saint-Chinian is a commune in the Hérault department in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France.-Saint-Chinian wine:Saint-Chinian has given its name to Saint-Chinian wine, which is classified as Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée and covers several communes around Saint-Chinian itself.-References:*...
, Affré was trained at the Conservatoire de Toulouse and the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
. He studied singing with Edmond Duvernoy
Edmond Duvernoy
Charles-Henri Edmond Duvernoy was a French pianist, baritone and vocal teacher, from a family of musicians.- Life and career :...
and Pierre Gailhard. After singing in theatres in the French provinces, he made his debut in Paris at the Opéra
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
in 1890 as Edgardo in Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
's Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
opposite Nellie Melba
Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
in the title role, who also made her debut. He remained a leading tenor at that opera house for the next 20 years, portraying such roles as Arnold Melchtal in William Tell
William Tell (opera)
Guillaume Tell is an opera in four acts by Gioachino Rossini to a French libretto by Etienne de Jouy and Hippolyte Bis, based on Friedrich Schiller's play Wilhelm Tell. Based on the legend of William Tell, this opera was Rossini's last, even though the composer lived for nearly forty more years...
, Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
, the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
, Eléazar in La Juive
La Juive
La Juive is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra, Paris, on February 23, 1835.-Composition history:...
, Fernand in La favorite
La favorite
La favorite is an opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play Le comte de Comminges by Baculard d'Arnaud...
, Jean de Leyde in Le prophète
Le prophète
Le prophète is an opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The French-language libretto was by Eugène Scribe.-Performance history:...
, Radames in Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
, Raoul de Nangis in Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots is a French opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer, one of the most popular and spectacular examples of the style of grand opera. The opera is in five acts and premiered in Paris in 1836. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps....
, Renaud in Gluck
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck was an opera composer of the early classical period. After many years at the Habsburg court at Vienna, Gluck brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices that many intellectuals had been campaigning for over the years...
's Armide
Armide (Gluck)
Armide is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck, his fifth for the Parisian stage and the composer's own favourite among his works. It was first performed in Paris at the Académie Royale on 23 September 1777....
, Vasco da Gama in L'Africaine
L'Africaine
L'africaine is a grand opera, the last work of the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer. The French libretto was written by Eugène Scribe. The opera is about fictitious events in the life of the real historical person Vasco da Gama...
, and the title roles in Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
and Sigurd
Sigurd (opera)
Sigurd is an opera in four acts and nine scenes by the French composer Ernest Reyer on a libretto by Camille du Locle and Alfred Blau. Like Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung, the story is based on the Niebelungenlied and the Eddas, with some crucial differences from the better known Wagnerian version...
. He created the role of the Touranien prisoner in the world premiere of Jules Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
's Le mage
Le mage
Le mage is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Jean Richepin. It was first performed at the Paris Opéra in Paris on March 16, 1891....
in 1891. In 1902 he sang the role of Canio in the French premiere of Ruggero Leoncavallo
Ruggero Leoncavallo
Ruggero Leoncavallo was an Italian opera composer. His two-act work Pagliacci remains one of the most popular works in the repertory, appearing as number 20 on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.-Biography:...
's Pagliacci
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
in French.
Outside of Paris, Affré appeared as a guest artist at the Opéra de Marseille
Opéra de Marseille
L’Opéra de Marseille, known today as the Opéra Municipal, is an opera company located in Marseille, France. In 1685, the city was the second in France after Bordeaux to have an opera house which was erected on a tennis court....
, Opéra National de Lyon
Opéra National de Lyon
Opéra National de Lyon is an opera company in Lyon, France which performs in the Nouvel Opéra, a modernized version in 1993 of the original 1831 opera house.The inaugural performance of François-Adrien Boïeldieu's La Dame blanche was given on 1 July 1831...
, and the Théâtre du Grand Cercle in Aix-les-Bains. In 1900 he performed at La Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
in Brussels. In 1909 he appeared at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House 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 of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in London as Samson in Samson et Dalila and in the title role of Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
's Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
. He performed on some of the earliest opera recordings, including the roles of Don José in Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
(1911) and Roméo in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette is an opéra in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It was first performed at the Théâtre Lyrique , Paris on 27 April 1867...
(1913). In 1911 he moved to the United States where he was heard in operas in New Orleans, San Francisco, and in Havana. He became director of the French Opera House
French Opera House
The French Opera House was an opera house in New Orleans. It was one of the city's landmarks from its opening in 1859 until it was destroyed by fire in 1919...
in New Orleans in 1913 when it came under the ownership of Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
, remaining there until the house burnt down in 1919. He died in Cagnes-sur-Mer
Cagnes-sur-Mer
Cagnes-sur-Mer is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Geography:It is the largest suburb of the city of Nice and lies to the west-southwest of it, about from the center.-History:...
in 1931 at the age of 73. He is buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...
in Paris.