Jean Elleviou was a French operatic 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...

, one of the most celebrated French singers of his time.

Born Pierre-Jean-Baptiste-François Elleviou, he made his debut at the Comédie-Italienne in Paris in 1790, as a baritone

Baritone

Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...

 in the role of Alexis in Monsigny's Le déserteur, and the following year as a tenor in Dalayrac's Philippe et Georgette.

He went on creating some 40 roles during the next 20 years, in operas by Grétry

Grétry

People of the surname Grétry include* André Grétry , composer of opéras comiques;* Jeanne-Marie Grandon Grétry , painter, wife of André;...

, Dalayrac, Monsigny, Boieldieu, Méhul, Isouard

Nicolas Isouard

Nicolas Isouard was a Maltese composer.Isouard studied in Valletta with Francesco Azopardi, in Palermo with Giuseppe Amendola, and in Naples with Nicola Sala and Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi. From 1795 he was organist at St...

, etc. His repertory also included Azor in Zémire et Azor

Zémire et Azor

Zémire et Azor is an opéra comique, described as a comédie-ballet mêlée de chants et de danses, in four acts by the Belgian composer André Grétry, The French text was by Jean François Marmontel based on La Belle et la bête by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont, and Amour pour amour by P. C....

, Blondel in Richard Coeur-de-lion

Richard Coeur-de-lion (opera)

Richard Coeur-de-lion is an opéra comique, described as a comédie mise en musique, by the Belgian composer André Grétry. was by Michel-Jean Sedaine. The work is generally recognised as Grétry's masterpiece and one of the most important French opéras comiques...

, Almaviva in Paisiello's Il barbiere di Siviglia

Il barbiere di Siviglia (Paisiello)

Il barbiere di Siviglia, ovvero La precauzione inutile is a comic opera by Giovanni Paisiello from a libretto by Giuseppe Petrosellini, even though his name is not identified on the score's title page....

.

He sang extensively in Italy in 1795, and across France in 1795 to 1797, then returned to Paris, appearing at the newly renamed Opéra-Comique

Opéra-Comique

The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...

. He retired in 1813, after Napoléon I

Napoleon I

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

refused to increase his already huge salary.

According to contemporaries, his voice was very sweet and flexible, he was noted for his eloquent diction, and had a handsome and charming stage presence which made him a great favorite by Paris audience.

Sources

• Le guide de l'opéra, Mancini & Rouveroux, (Fayard, 1986) ISBN 2-213-05613-6