Félix Vieuille
Encyclopedia
Félix Vieuille was a French
opera
tic bass
who sang for more than four decades with the Opéra-Comique
in Paris
during the first half of the twentieth century. He created roles in numerous world premieres, most notably portraying Arkel in the original production of Claude Debussy
's Pelléas et Mélisande
in 1902 which he went on to sing 208 times at that house. He possessed a rich voice and a solid technique which helped sustain his career for a long time. His voice is preserved on a number of recordings made on the Odeon
, Lyrophon, and Beka
labels.
with teachers Léon Achard and Alfred Auguste Giraudet. He made his debut as Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni
in 1897 at Aix-les-Bains
. He joined the Paris Opéra-Comique
in 1898 where he initially sang supporting roles until he was made a leading bass in 1902, with his first major role being Arkel in the world première of Claude Debussy
's Pelléas et Mélisande
. Debussy was evidently pleased with Vieuille’s interpretation of Arkël; in a letter to Dufranne (who sang Golaud) at the time of an early revival, he wrote "you and Vieuille are almost the only two who have maintained your understanding of my artistic aims".
Vieuille continued to perform in leading roles at the Opéra-Comique up until 1940. He notably created roles in more than twenty world premieres, including Gustave Charpentier
's Louise
(1900), Henri Rabaud
's La fille de Roland (1904), Ariane et Barbe-Bleue
(1907), Bloch’s Macbeth (1910), Rabaud's Mârouf, savetier du Caire
(1914), and Milhaud’s Le pauvre matelot
(1927) to name just a few. He also sang in the Paris premières of Fauré
’s Pénélope
and Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snow Maiden
(Grandfather Frost, 1908). He continued to sing Arkel in performances of Pelléas et Mélisande at the Opéra-Comique up to 1933, appearing alongside his nephew the baritone Jean Vieuille
(as the doctor) from 1930–33. At this point Vieuille had taken up teaching and his nephew was one of his many pupils.
In addition to his appearance at the Opéra-Comique
, Vieuille also appeared at the Manhattan Opera House in New York City
from 1908–1909 at the invitation of Oscar Hammerstein I
. While there he notably sang Arkel in the United States
premiere of Pelléas et Mélisande among other roles. He also sang in a few productions with Zurich Opera
in 1917.
with Enrico Caruso, Geraldine Farrar
, and Emilio de Gogorza
in 1908.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
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 bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
who sang for more than four decades with 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 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...
during the first half of the twentieth century. He created roles in numerous world premieres, most notably portraying Arkel in the original production of Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
's Pelléas et Mélisande
Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)
Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande...
in 1902 which he went on to sing 208 times at that house. He possessed a rich voice and a solid technique which helped sustain his career for a long time. His voice is preserved on a number of recordings made on the Odeon
Odeon Records
Odeon Records was a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. It was named after a famous theatre in Paris, whose classical dome appears on the Odeon record label....
, Lyrophon, and Beka
Beka Records
Beka Records was a record label based in Germany, active from about 1903 to 1925. Before World War I, Beka also made gramophone records for the United Kingdom market under the Beka-Grand Records label. The company became a subsidiary of the Carl Lindström Company which was sold to the Columbia...
labels.
Biography
Vieuille 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...
with teachers Léon Achard and Alfred Auguste Giraudet. He made his debut as Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
in 1897 at Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is situated on the shore of Lac du Bourget, by rail north of Chambéry.-Geography:...
. He joined the Paris 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 1898 where he initially sang supporting roles until he was made a leading bass in 1902, with his first major role being Arkel in the world première of Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
's Pelléas et Mélisande
Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)
Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande...
. Debussy was evidently pleased with Vieuille’s interpretation of Arkël; in a letter to Dufranne (who sang Golaud) at the time of an early revival, he wrote "you and Vieuille are almost the only two who have maintained your understanding of my artistic aims".
Vieuille continued to perform in leading roles at the Opéra-Comique up until 1940. He notably created roles in more than twenty world premieres, including Gustave Charpentier
Gustave Charpentier
Gustave Charpentier, , born in Dieuze, Moselle on 25 June 1860, died Paris, 18 February 1956) was a French composer, best known for his opera Louise.-Life and career:...
's Louise
Louise (opera)
Louise is an opera in four acts by Gustave Charpentier to an original French libretto by the composer, with some contributions by Saint-Pol-Roux, a symbolist poet and inspiration of the surrealists....
(1900), Henri Rabaud
Henri Rabaud
Henri Rabaud was a French conductor and composer, who held important posts in the French musical establishment and upheld mainly conservative trends in French music in the first half of the twentieth century....
's La fille de Roland (1904), Ariane et Barbe-Bleue
Ariane et Barbe-bleue
Ariane et Barbe-bleue is an opera in three acts by Paul Dukas. The French libretto is adapted from the symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck....
(1907), Bloch’s Macbeth (1910), Rabaud's Mârouf, savetier du Caire
Mârouf, savetier du Caire
Mârouf, savetier du Caire is an opéra comique by the French composer Henri Rabaud. The libretto, by Lucien Nepoty, is based on a tale from the Arabian Nights. Mârouf was first performed at the Opéra-Comique, Paris, on 15 May 1914. The premiere was a great success and Mârouf became Rabaud's most...
(1914), and Milhaud’s Le pauvre matelot
Le pauvre matelot
Le pauvre matelot is a three act opera composed by Darius Milhaud with libretto by Jean Cocteau. Its first performance was at the Opéra-Comique on December 16, 1927. Le pauvre matelot is short, lasting about 35 minutes when performed, and is dedicated to Henri Sauguet...
(1927) to name just a few. He also sang in the Paris premières of Fauré
Faure
Faure or Fauré is a French family name and may refer to:People:* Edgar Faure, French politician* Élie Faure, French art historian and essayist* Émile Alphonse Faure, lead battery pioneer* Cédric Fauré, French football striker...
’s Pénélope
Pénélope
Pénélope is an opera in three acts by the French composer Gabriel Fauré. The libretto, by René Fauchois, is based on Homer's Odyssey. It was first performed at the Salle Garnier, Monte Carlo on 4 March 1913.-Background and performance history:...
and Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snow Maiden
The Snow Maiden
The Snow Maiden: A Spring Fairy Tale is an opera in four acts with a prologue by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composed during 1880–1881. The Russian libretto, by the composer, is based on the like-named play by Alexander Ostrovsky .The first performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera took place at the...
(Grandfather Frost, 1908). He continued to sing Arkel in performances of Pelléas et Mélisande at the Opéra-Comique up to 1933, appearing alongside his nephew the baritone Jean Vieuille
Jean Vieuille
Jean Vieuille was a French Bass-Baritone, born Paris, 14 February 1902, died St Georges de Didonne, 6 April 1967.His teachers were Albert Carré, Léon David and Félix Vieuille...
(as the doctor) from 1930–33. At this point Vieuille had taken up teaching and his nephew was one of his many pupils.
In addition to his appearance 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...
, Vieuille also appeared at the Manhattan Opera House in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from 1908–1909 at the invitation of Oscar Hammerstein I
Oscar Hammerstein I
Oscar Hammerstein I was a businessman, theater impresario and composer in New York City. His passion for opera led him to open several opera houses, and he rekindled opera's popularity in America...
. While there he notably sang Arkel in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
premiere of Pelléas et Mélisande among other roles. He also sang in a few productions with Zurich Opera
Zurich Opera
Oper Zürich is an opera company based in Zurich, Switzerland. The company gives performances in the Opernhaus Zürich which has been the company’s home for fifty years.-History:...
in 1917.
Roles created
- Chiffonnier in LouiseLouise (opera)Louise is an opera in four acts by Gustave Charpentier to an original French libretto by the composer, with some contributions by Saint-Pol-Roux, a symbolist poet and inspiration of the surrealists....
(CharpentierGustave CharpentierGustave Charpentier, , born in Dieuze, Moselle on 25 June 1860, died Paris, 18 February 1956) was a French composer, best known for his opera Louise.-Life and career:...
) 1900 - Walter in Le Juif polonaisLe Juif polonaisLe Juif Polonais is an opera in three acts by Camille Erlanger composed to a libretto by Henri Cain. The libretto was adapted from the 1867 play of the same name by Erckmann-Chatrian...
(ErlangerCamille ErlangerCamille Erlanger was a Parisian-born French opera composer. He studied at the Paris Conservatory under Léo Delibes and Émile Durand, and in 1888 won the Prix de Rome for his cantata Velléda...
) 1900 - Arkël in Pelléas et MélisandePelléas et Mélisande (opera)Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande...
(DebussyClaude DebussyClaude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
) 1902 - Charlemagne in La fille de Roland (RabaudHenri RabaudHenri Rabaud was a French conductor and composer, who held important posts in the French musical establishment and upheld mainly conservative trends in French music in the first half of the twentieth century....
) 1904 - Jean-Pierre in Les pêcheurs de Saint-Jean (WidorCharles-Marie WidorCharles-Marie Jean Albert Widor was a French organist, composer and teacher.-Life:Widor was born in Lyon, to a family of organ builders, and initially studied music there with his father, François-Charles Widor, titular organist of Saint-François-de-Sales from 1838 to 1889...
) 1905 - Toussaint in L’Enfant Roi (BruneauAlfred BruneauLouis-Charles-Bonaventure-Alfred Bruneau was a French composer who played a key role in the introduction of realism in French opera....
) 1905 - Le roi in Le roi aveugle (FévrierHenry FévrierHenry Février was a French composer.-Biography:Henry Février studied at the Paris Conservatoire where his teachers included Jules Massenet and Gabriel Fauré. He also took private lessons with André Messager...
) 1906 - Eurylaque in Circé (Paul & Lucien Hillemacher) 1907
- Barbe-bleue in Ariane et Barbe-bleueAriane et Barbe-bleueAriane et Barbe-bleue is an opera in three acts by Paul Dukas. The French libretto is adapted from the symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck....
(DukasPaul DukasPaul Abraham Dukas was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man, of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, and he abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions...
) 1907 - Maitre Pierre in Le chemineau (LerouxXavier LerouxXavier Henry Napoleón Leroux was a French composer.Leroux was the son of a military bandleader. He studied at the Paris Conservatory under Jules Massenet and Théodore Dubois, and won the Prix de Rome in 1885 with the cantata Endymion...
) 1907 - Etchemendy in Chiquito (Jean Nouguès) 1909
- Macduff in Macbeth (BlochErnest BlochErnest Bloch was a Swiss-born American composer.-Life:Bloch was born in Geneva and began playing the violin at age 9. He began composing soon afterwards. He studied music at the conservatory in Brussels, where his teachers included the celebrated Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe...
) 1910 - Mucien in Bérénice (MagnardAlbéric MagnardLucien Denis Gabriel Albéric Magnard was a French composer, sometimes referred to as the "French Bruckner", though there are significant differences between the two composers...
) 1911 - Mattelinn in La lépreuse (LazzariSylvio LazzariSylvio Lazzari was a French composer of Austrian origin.-Life:...
) 1912 - Chrestus in Danseuse di Pompéi (Jean NouguèsJean NouguèsJean-Charles Nouguès was a French composer of operas.Born in Bordeaux, Nouguès was from a wealthy family, and in his youth he received little formal musical training. His first opera, Le Roi de Papagey, was written when he was only sixteen; after further study in Paris, he composed a second,...
) 1912 - van Hulle in Le carilloneur (Leroux) 1913
- Sultan of Khaitan in Mârouf, savetier du CaireMârouf, savetier du CaireMârouf, savetier du Caire is an opéra comique by the French composer Henri Rabaud. The libretto, by Lucien Nepoty, is based on a tale from the Arabian Nights. Mârouf was first performed at the Opéra-Comique, Paris, on 15 May 1914. The premiere was a great success and Mârouf became Rabaud's most...
(Rabaud) 1914 - L'Evêque in Béatrice (MessagerAndré MessagerAndré 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...
) 1917 - The priest Siang in Ping-Sin (Charles-Henri Maréchal) 1918
- Philippe Strozzi in Lorenzaccio (Ernest Moret) 1920
- Estéban in Dans l'ombre de la cathédrale (HüeGeorges HüeGeorges Adolphe Hüe was a French composer of classical music.-Biography:Hüe was born in Versailles into a noted family of architects. His musical education included studies with Charles Gounod and César Franck. In 1879, he won the Prix de Rome with his cantata Médée...
) 1921 - Father-in-law in Le pauvre matelotLe pauvre matelotLe pauvre matelot is a three act opera composed by Darius Milhaud with libretto by Jean Cocteau. Its first performance was at the Opéra-Comique on December 16, 1927. Le pauvre matelot is short, lasting about 35 minutes when performed, and is dedicated to Henri Sauguet...
(MilhaudDarius MilhaudDarius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
) 1927 - Jonathas in La peau de Chagrin (Charles Levadé) 1929
- Don Pédro in Le sicilien (Omer Letorey) 1930
Recordings
Félix Vieuille made several recordings. including some trios from FaustFaust (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...
with Enrico Caruso, Geraldine Farrar
Geraldine Farrar
Geraldine Farrar was an American soprano opera singer and film actress, noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following among young women, who were nicknamed "Gerry-flappers".- Early life and opera career :Farrar was born in Melrose,...
, and Emilio de Gogorza
Emilio de Gogorza
Emilio Eduardo de Gogorza was an American baritone of Spanish parentage.He was born in Brooklyn, New York, but brought up and trained musically in Spain. He returned to the USA in his early 20s. He sang in many languages, including French, Italian and English, as well as Spanish...
in 1908.