Lionel Daunais
Encyclopedia
Noël Ferdinand Lionel Daunais, (December 31, 1901 – July 18, 1982) was a French Canadian
baritone
and composer
.
Born in Montreal
, Quebec
, Daunais studied singing with Céline Marier and harmony and composition with Oscar O'Brien
. In 1923 he won first prize at the Montreal Musical Festival. He made his professional opera
debut in January 1926 as Ourrias in Charles Gounod
's Mireille
at the Orpheum in Vancouver. The following March he gave his first recital at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Daunais was also awarded the Prix d'Europe
in 1926 which provided him with the opportuntity to pursue studies in Paris with Émile Marcellin at the Opéra-Comique
. In 1929 he joined the roster of principal artists at the Opera of Algiers. With that company he sang several leading roles, including Escamillo in Carmen
, Figaro in The Barber of Seville
, Giorgio Germont in La traviata
, Lescaut in Manon
, and Valentin in Faust
.
Upon his return to Canada in 1930, Daunais performed with the Bytown Troubadours at the third annual CPR Festivals in Quebec City. At the festival he also portrayed Samuel de Champlain
in Healey Willan
's The Order of Good Cheer. Later that year he made his debut with the Société canadienne d'opérette in Montreal as Clément Marot in André Messager
's La Basoche
. He performed frequently with that company through 1935.
In 1932 Daunais founded the Trio lyrique
(TL) whose original members also included contralto
Anna Malenfant and tenor
Ludovic Huot. Jules Jacob replaced Huot in the early 1940s. Daunais recruited pianist and composer Allan McIver
to serve as the group's accompanist and arranger. All of the arrangements performed during the TL's performance history were by McIver, including arrangements of many of Daunais's compositions.
In 1933 the TL was engaged by CRBC for its network series One Hour with You, on which the group performed for 87 weeks. In the 1934 the TL released the LP album
Chansons de Lionel Daunais for Radio Canada International
. In 1936 the group performed for the CBS radio network in New York where McIver was also engaged as a staff arranger. The TL continued to perform actively in public concerts and on CBC Radio
programs like The Play of the Week, Light Up and Listen. and Serenade for Strings up until the mid-1960s when it disbanded. The group re-united briefly in the autumn of 1971 for CBC broadcasts honoring Daunais and his work. In 1984 the album Le Trio lyrique chante Lionel Daunais was released; containing music from the ensemble's many radio broadcasts.
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
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...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Born in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Daunais studied singing with Céline Marier and harmony and composition with Oscar O'Brien
Oscar O'Brien
Oscar O'Brien was a Canadian folklorist, composer, pianist, organist, music educator, and Roman Catholic priest...
. In 1923 he won first prize at the Montreal Musical Festival. He made his professional opera
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...
debut in January 1926 as Ourrias in Charles 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 Mireille
Mireille (opera)
Mireille is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Michel Carré after Frédéric Mistral's poem Mireio.-Composition history:...
at the Orpheum in Vancouver. The following March he gave his first recital at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Daunais was also awarded the Prix d'Europe
Prix d'Europe
The Prix d'Europe is a prestigious Canadian study grant that is funded by the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec of the Government of Quebec. Established in 1911, the award has been distributed annually to a single individual through competition with the exception of 1960-1973 and 2009...
in 1926 which provided him with the opportuntity to pursue studies in Paris with Émile Marcellin at the 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...
. In 1929 he joined the roster of principal artists at the Opera of Algiers. With that company he sang several leading roles, including Escamillo in 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...
, Figaro in The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
, Giorgio Germont in La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, Lescaut in Manon
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...
, and Valentin in 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...
.
Upon his return to Canada in 1930, Daunais performed with the Bytown Troubadours at the third annual CPR Festivals in Quebec City. At the festival he also portrayed Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
in Healey Willan
Healey Willan
Healey Willan, was an Anglo-Canadian organist and composer. He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and piano...
's The Order of Good Cheer. Later that year he made his debut with the Société canadienne d'opérette in Montreal as Clément Marot in André Messager
André Messager
André Charles Prosper Messager , was a French composer, organist, pianist, conductor and administrator. His stage compositions included ballets and 30 opéra comiques and operettas, among which Véronique, had lasting success, with Les p'tites Michu and Monsieur Beaucaire also enjoying international...
's La Basoche
La Basoche
La Basoche is an opéra comique in three acts of 1890, with music by André Messager and a French libretto by Albert Carré.-History:Messager's 1889 opérette Le mari de la reine at Bouffes-Parisiens was a disappointment, and the composer and his wife were struggling to afford even basic necessities...
. He performed frequently with that company through 1935.
In 1932 Daunais founded the Trio lyrique
Trio lyrique
The Trio lyrique was a Canadian vocal trio founded in 1932 by baritone Lionel Daunais. Based in Montreal, the group's other original members also included contralto Anna Malenfant and tenor Ludovic Huot. Jules Jacob replaced Huot in the early 1940s. Daunais recruited pianist and composer Allan...
(TL) whose original members also included contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
Anna Malenfant and 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...
Ludovic Huot. Jules Jacob replaced Huot in the early 1940s. Daunais recruited pianist and composer Allan McIver
Allan McIver
Joseph Allan McIver was a Canadian composer, arranger, pianist, and conductor. As a pianist he performed with orchestras in the Quebec region in his early career and was the longtime accompanist and arranger for Trio lyrique...
to serve as the group's accompanist and arranger. All of the arrangements performed during the TL's performance history were by McIver, including arrangements of many of Daunais's compositions.
In 1933 the TL was engaged by CRBC for its network series One Hour with You, on which the group performed for 87 weeks. In the 1934 the TL released the LP album
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
Chansons de Lionel Daunais for Radio Canada International
Radio Canada International
Radio Canada International is the international broadcasting service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . Until 1970, it was known as the CBC International Service and was sometimes referred to as the "Voice of Canada" in its early years.- The early years :The idea for creating an...
. In 1936 the group performed for the CBS radio network in New York where McIver was also engaged as a staff arranger. The TL continued to perform actively in public concerts and on CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
programs like The Play of the Week, Light Up and Listen. and Serenade for Strings up until the mid-1960s when it disbanded. The group re-united briefly in the autumn of 1971 for CBC broadcasts honoring Daunais and his work. In 1984 the album Le Trio lyrique chante Lionel Daunais was released; containing music from the ensemble's many radio broadcasts.
Honours
- In 1965, he was awarded the Bene merenti de patriaBene merenti de patriaBene merenti de patria is a silver medal created in 1923. It is awarded by the Quebec patriotic Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society to a "compatriot having rendered exceptional services to the homeland".- Laureates :*1924: Marie Lacoste Gérin-Lajoie...
. - In 1977, he was awarded the Calixa-Lavallée AwardCalixa-Lavallée AwardThe Calixa-Lavallée Award is a music award created in 1959. It is granted by the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal to a Quebecer having distinguished himself or herself in the field of music...
. - In 1978, he was made an Officer of the Order of CanadaOrder of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
. - In 1982, he was awarded the Prix Denise-PelletierPrix Denise-PelletierThe Prix Denise-Pelletier is an award by the Government of Quebec that is part of the Prix du Québec, given to individuals for an outstanding career in the performing arts. It is awarded to a creator, performer, stage-craftsman or person who has made a noteworthy contribution in the fields of song,...
.