Paul Barroilhet
Encyclopedia
Paul-Bernard Barroilhet (22 September 1810, Bayonne
- April 1871, Paris
) was a French
opera
tic baritone
.
and then with Davide Banderali in Milan
. He began his career in Italy during the early 1830s, performing under the name Paolo Barroilhet and making a name for himself as an exceptional singer, particularly in Naples
.
He returned to France in 1840 to join the roster of artists at the Opéra National de Paris, where he performed under his birth name. However, he left the Paris Opera in 1847 after differences with the company's management. The by now wealthy Bairrolhet elected to withdraw completely from the stage and he found a new vocation as a painter and art collector. He came out of retirement briefly for appearances in Madrid in 1851–1852, performing Don Carlo in Ernani
.
Barroilhet is best remembered today for originating roles in several operas by Gaetano Donizetti
and Fromental Halévy
. For Donizetti he created Eustachio de Saint-Pierre in L'assedio di Calais
(1836), the Lord Duke of Nottingham in Roberto Devereux
(1837), Alfonso XI of Castile
in La favorite
(1840), and Camoëns in Dom Sebastien
(1843). The Halevy roles he created include King Lusignan in La reine de Chypre
(1841), the title role in the premiere of Charles VI
(1843) and Mirobolante in Le lazzarone, ou Le bien vient en dormant (1844).
Other world premieres he sang in include Saverio Mercadante
's La vestale
(Publio) and Elena da Feltre
(Guido), Il Conte di Chalais by Giuseppe Lillo
, Richard en Palestine by Adolphe Adam
and Marie Stuart
by Louis Niedermeyer
. He also sang the title-role in the pasticcio
opera, Robert Bruce
, in which Niedermeyer had adapted music from various operas by Rossini.
Bayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
- April 1871, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
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...
tic 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...
.
Career
Barroilhet studied at the Conservatoire de ParisConservatoire 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...
and then with Davide Banderali in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. He began his career in Italy during the early 1830s, performing under the name Paolo Barroilhet and making a name for himself as an exceptional singer, particularly in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
.
He returned to France in 1840 to join the roster of artists at the Opéra National de Paris, where he performed under his birth name. However, he left the Paris Opera in 1847 after differences with the company's management. The by now wealthy Bairrolhet elected to withdraw completely from the stage and he found a new vocation as a painter and art collector. He came out of retirement briefly for appearances in Madrid in 1851–1852, performing Don Carlo in Ernani
Ernani
Ernani is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Hernani by Victor Hugo. The first production took place at La Fenice Theatre, Venice on 9 March 1844...
.
Barroilhet is best remembered today for originating roles in several operas by 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...
and Fromental Halévy
Fromental Halévy
Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy , was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera La Juive.-Early career:...
. For Donizetti he created Eustachio de Saint-Pierre in L'assedio di Calais
L'assedio di Calais
L'assedio di Calais is a melodramma lirico, or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto after Luigi Marchionni's play and, secondarily, Luigi Henry's ballet , both based on Pierre Du Belloy's play Le siège de Calais...
(1836), the Lord Duke of Nottingham in Roberto Devereux
Roberto Devereux
Roberto Devereux is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, by Gaetano Donizetti...
(1837), Alfonso XI of Castile
Alfonso XI of Castile
Alfonso XI was the king of Castile, León and Galicia.He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes ensued over who would hold regency, which were resolved in 1313...
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...
(1840), and Camoëns in Dom Sebastien
Dom Sébastien
Dom Sébastien, Roi de Portugal is a French grand opera in five acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe, based on Paul Foucher's play Don Sébastien de Portugal , a historic-fiction about King Sebastian of Portugal and his ill-fated 1578 expedition to Morocco...
(1843). The Halevy roles he created include King Lusignan in La reine de Chypre
La reine de Chypre
La reine de Chypre is an 1841 grand opera composed by Fromental Halévy to a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges.-Background:...
(1841), the title role in the premiere of Charles VI
Charles VI (opera)
Charles VI is an 1843 French grand opera in five acts with music composed by Fromental Halevy and a libretto by Casimir Delavigne and his brother Germain Delavigne.-Performance history:...
(1843) and Mirobolante in Le lazzarone, ou Le bien vient en dormant (1844).
Other world premieres he sang in include Saverio Mercadante
Saverio Mercadante
Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond his own lifetime, he composed as impressive a number of works as either; and his development of...
's La vestale
La vestale (Mercadante)
La vestale is an opera by the Italian composer Saverio Mercadante. It takes the form of a tragedia lirica in three acts...
(Publio) and Elena da Feltre
Elena da Feltre
Elena da Feltre is an opera in three acts by 19th century Italian composer Saverio Mercadante from a libretto by Salvatore Cammarano, well-known as librettist of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Verdi's Il trovatore. The premiere took place at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on 1 January 1839...
(Guido), Il Conte di Chalais by Giuseppe Lillo
Giuseppe Lillo
Giuseppe Lillo was an Italian composer. He is best known for his operas which followed in the same vein of Gioachino Rossini. He also produced works for solo piano, a small amount of sacred music, and some chamber music....
, Richard en Palestine by Adolphe Adam
Adolphe Adam
Adolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas...
and Marie Stuart
Marie Stuart (opera)
Marie Stuart is a grand opera in five acts composed by Louis Niedermeyer to a libretto by Théodor Anne loosely based on events in the life of Mary, Queen of Scots...
by Louis Niedermeyer
Louis Niedermeyer
Abraham Louis Niedermeyer was a composer chiefly of church music but also of a few operas, and a teacher who took over the Ecole Choron, duly renamed École Niedermeyer, a school for the study and practice of church music, where several eminent French musicians studied including Gabriel Fauré and...
. He also sang the title-role in the pasticcio
Pasticcio
In music, a pasticcio or pastiche is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, or inauthentic.-Etymology:The term is first attested in the...
opera, Robert Bruce
Robert Bruce (opera)
Robert Bruce is an 1846 pastiche opera in three acts, with music by Gioachino Rossini and Louis Niedermeyer to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, after Walter Scott's History of Scotland...
, in which Niedermeyer had adapted music from various operas by Rossini.