Gabriel Bacquier
Encyclopedia
Gabriel Bacquier is a French opera
tic baritone
. One of the leading baritones of the 20th century and particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories, he is considered a fine singing-actor equally at home in dramatic or comic roles.
, France
and as a child was fascinated by everything to do with singing - records, broadcasts and photos of singers. After beginning studies in Montpellier as a commercial artist, and doing national service on the railways during the Occupation, he found a singing teacher, took classes at the Music School and in 1945 entered the Paris Conservatoire, graduating in 1950. He joined the opera company of José Beckmans from 1950 to 1952, and then became a member of La Monnaie
in Brussels
from 1953 until 1956. There he sang both the French repertory, opera
(Faust, Lakmé, Manon, Werther) and operetta
(Angélique, La belle Hélène
, Les Cloches de Corneville
, Miss Heylett, Monsieur Beaucaire
); as well as Puccini (La Boheme
, Madame Butterfly), the Barber of Seville and the Bartered Bride.
He made his debut at the Opéra-Comique
in 1956, as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly
, and at the Palais Garnier
in 1958, as Germont in La traviata
, followed by the Aix-en-Provence Festival
in 1960, as Don Giovanni
. The same year he stood in at short notice to sing Rigoletto at the Paris Opera leading to his engagement at that house, making his debut proper there in Tosca opposite Renata Tebaldi
. That was the start of his international career. He was invited at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1962, as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. From 1963, Bacquier sang regularly at the Vienna State Opera
, La Scala
, the Royal Opera House
in London
.
Bacquier made his American debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
in 1962, as the High Priest in Samson et Dalila, which was also his debut role at the Metropolitan Opera
in New York
, on October 17, 1964, where he was one of the few French singers to sing there for 18 consecutive seasons. He also sang frequently at the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
between 1963 and 1968, making his debut on February 22, 1963 as Zurga in Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles
with Ferruccio Tagliavini
as Nadir and Adriana Maliponte
as Leïla. His other roles in Philadelphia included Nilakantha inLakmé opposite Joan Sutherland
in the title role, Germont with Sutherland as Violetta and John Alexander
as Alfredo, Iago in Otello
, Scarpia in Tosca
, and Escamillo in Carmen
. He made his debut at the San Francisco Opera
in 1971 as Michele in Il tabarro
.
Though closely associated with the French repertory, especially Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande, Bacquier resisted being typecast as a 'French baritone' and added many Italian roles to his repertory, such as Renato in Ballo in maschera, Melitone in Forza del destino, Posa in Don Carlos
, Scarpia in Tosca
, as well as comic roles such as Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Don Pasquale
, Falstaff
, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte
, etc. Many of his roles are preserved in an impressive discography.
He also created the title roles of Jean-Pierre Rivière's Pour un Don Quichotte (La Scala, March 10, 1961) and Daniel-Lesur
's Andréa del Sarto (Opéra de Marseille
, 1969), as well as singing in the world premieres of Maurice Thiriet
's La véridique histoire du Docteur and Gian Carlo Menotti
's Le Dernier Sauvage
at the Opéra-Comique
. He retired from the stage in June 1994 (final performance as Don Pasquale at the Opéra-Comique).
In the field of mélodie
, he made recordings of songs by Ravel, Déodat de Séverac
, Poulenc
and others. Two live recitals from 1961 and 1972 were issued on CD in 1987 on the Vogue label. He may be seen singing six Poulenc songs accompanied by Jacques Février
in June 1964 on a DVD.
Bacquier appeared in the 1976 film La Grande récré, and in a cameo singing role in the wedding scene of the 1986 film Manon des Sources. He also starred in the 1979 film of Falstaff
directed by Götz Friedrich
(sound recorded Vienna 1978, filmed Berlin 1979).
Bacquier has also been active as a teacher, first at the vocal school of the Paris Opera, and later at the Paris Conservatory and since 2001 the Académie de Musique de Monaco where he has directed student productions.
In 2007 Gabriel Bacquier recorded for CD thirteen songs by actor and song-writer Pierre Louki
, directed by Jacques Bolognesi.
He was one of the lead signatories to a petition in 2008 Appel à la Refondation des Troupes de Théâtre Lyrique to defend and promote French singing.
, Commandeur de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
, Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur
.
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...
. One of the leading baritones of the 20th century and particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories, he is considered a fine singing-actor equally at home in dramatic or comic roles.
Life and career
Gabriel Bacquier was born in BéziersBéziers
Béziers is a town in Languedoc in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event...
, France
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...
and as a child was fascinated by everything to do with singing - records, broadcasts and photos of singers. After beginning studies in Montpellier as a commercial artist, and doing national service on the railways during the Occupation, he found a singing teacher, took classes at the Music School and in 1945 entered the Paris Conservatoire, graduating in 1950. He joined the opera company of José Beckmans from 1950 to 1952, and then became a member of La Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
from 1953 until 1956. There he sang both the French repertory, 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...
(Faust, Lakmé, Manon, Werther) and operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
(Angélique, La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène , opéra bouffe in three acts, is an operetta by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy...
, Les Cloches de Corneville
Les cloches de Corneville
Les cloches de Corneville is an operetta in three acts, composed by Robert Planquette to a French libretto by Louis Clairville and Charles Gabet based on a play by Gabet.In 1876, the director of the Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques, Louis Cantin, hired Planquette to compose the operetta,...
, Miss Heylett, Monsieur Beaucaire
Monsieur Beaucaire (operetta)
Monsieur Beaucaire is a romantic opera in three acts, composed by André Messager. The libretto, based on the 1900 novel by Booth Tarkington, is by Frederick Lonsdale, with lyrics by Adrian Ross...
); as well as Puccini (La Boheme
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, Madame Butterfly), the Barber of Seville and the Bartered Bride.
He made his debut 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 1956, as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
, and at the Palais Garnier
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
in 1958, as 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...
, followed by the Aix-en-Provence Festival
Aix-en-Provence Festival
The festival international d'art lyrique is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in the month of July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumental music.-Establishment:The...
in 1960, as 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...
. The same year he stood in at short notice to sing Rigoletto at the Paris Opera leading to his engagement at that house, making his debut proper there in Tosca opposite Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...
. That was the start of his international career. He was invited at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1962, as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. From 1963, Bacquier sang regularly at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
, La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
, 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
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Bacquier made his American debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
in 1962, as the High Priest in Samson et Dalila, which was also his debut role at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, on October 17, 1964, where he was one of the few French singers to sing there for 18 consecutive seasons. He also sang frequently at the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
The Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company was an American opera company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was active between 1958 and 1974. The company was led by a number of Artistic Directors during its history, beginning with Aurelio Fabiani. Other notable Artistic Directors include Julius...
between 1963 and 1968, making his debut on February 22, 1963 as Zurga in Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles
Les pêcheurs de perles
Les pêcheurs de perles is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was first performed on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances in its initial run...
with Ferruccio Tagliavini
Ferruccio Tagliavini
Ferruccio Tagliavini was an Italian operatic tenor mainly active in the 1940s and 1950s...
as Nadir and Adriana Maliponte
Adriana Maliponte
Adriana Maliponte is an Italian operatic soprano.Born Adriana Macchiaioli, she moved with her family to France a the age of 14. She studied first at the Mulhouse Conservatory and later in Como with Carmen Melis and made her stage debut at the Teatro Nuovo in Milan in 1958...
as Leïla. His other roles in Philadelphia included Nilakantha inLakmé opposite Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
in the title role, Germont with Sutherland as Violetta and John Alexander
John Alexander (tenor)
John Alexander was an American operatic tenor who had a substantial career during the 1950s through the 1980s. He had a long standing relationship with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, singing with that company every year between 1961 and 1987 for a total of 379 performances...
as Alfredo, Iago in Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
, Scarpia in Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
, and 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...
. He made his debut at the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
in 1971 as Michele in Il tabarro
Il tabarro
Il tabarro is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on Didier Gold's play La houppelande. It is the first of the trio of operas known as Il trittico...
.
Though closely associated with the French repertory, especially Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande, Bacquier resisted being typecast as a 'French baritone' and added many Italian roles to his repertory, such as Renato in Ballo in maschera, Melitone in Forza del destino, Posa in Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
, Scarpia in Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
, as well as comic roles such as Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The librettist Giovanni Ruffini wrote the Italian language libretto after Angelo Anelli's libretto for Stefano Pavesi's Ser Marcantonio ....
, Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
, etc. Many of his roles are preserved in an impressive discography.
He also created the title roles of Jean-Pierre Rivière's Pour un Don Quichotte (La Scala, March 10, 1961) and Daniel-Lesur
Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur
Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur, known often simply as Daniel-Lesur was a French organist and composer. His mother, Alice Lesur, was an accomplished composer in her own right; some of her music was even published....
's Andréa del Sarto (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....
, 1969), as well as singing in the world premieres of Maurice Thiriet
Maurice Thiriet
Maurice Thiriet was a French composer of classical and film music.-Biography:Born in Meulan, Yvelines, he entered the Paris conservatory in 1925 to study counterpoint and fugue with Charles Koechlin and orchestration and arrangement under Alexis Roland-Manuel. He graduated in 1931...
's La véridique histoire du Docteur and Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
's Le Dernier Sauvage
The Last Savage
The Last Savage is an opera in three acts by composer Gian Carlo Menotti. Menotti wrote his own libretto, originally in the Italian language . The opera was translated into French by Jean-Pierre Marty for the work's world premiere performance at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 21 October 1963...
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...
. He retired from the stage in June 1994 (final performance as Don Pasquale at the Opéra-Comique).
In the field of mélodie
Mélodie
Mélodie refers to French art songs of the mid-19th century to the present; it is the French equivalent of the German Lied. It is distinguished from a chanson, which is a folk or popular song.-Nature of the mélodie:...
, he made recordings of songs by Ravel, Déodat de Séverac
Déodat de Séverac
Déodat de Séverac was a French composer.-Biography:...
, Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
and others. Two live recitals from 1961 and 1972 were issued on CD in 1987 on the Vogue label. He may be seen singing six Poulenc songs accompanied by Jacques Février
Jacques Février
Jacques Février was a French pianist and teacher.Jacques Février was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the son of the composer Henry Février. He studied with Édouard Risler and Marguerite Long at the Paris Conservatoire, taking a premier prix in 1921...
in June 1964 on a DVD.
Bacquier appeared in the 1976 film La Grande récré, and in a cameo singing role in the wedding scene of the 1986 film Manon des Sources. He also starred in the 1979 film of Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
directed by Götz Friedrich
Götz Friedrich
Götz Friedrich was a German opera and theatre director.He was a student and assistant of Walter Felsenstein at the Komische Oper Berlin in Berlin, where he went on to direct his early productions...
(sound recorded Vienna 1978, filmed Berlin 1979).
Bacquier has also been active as a teacher, first at the vocal school of the Paris Opera, and later at the Paris Conservatory and since 2001 the Académie de Musique de Monaco where he has directed student productions.
In 2007 Gabriel Bacquier recorded for CD thirteen songs by actor and song-writer Pierre Louki
Pierre Louki
Pierre Louki, born Pierre Varenne on 25 July 1920 in Brienon-sur-Armançon in Yonne, died 21 December 2006, was a French actor and singer/song-writer....
, directed by Jacques Bolognesi.
He was one of the lead signatories to a petition in 2008 Appel à la Refondation des Troupes de Théâtre Lyrique to defend and promote French singing.
Awards and Distinctions
Bacquier has received numerous awards and distinctions in his native France, including Officier de L'Ordre national du MériteOrdre National du Mérite
The Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...
, Commandeur de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
, Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
.
Recordings
The following is a selection of Bacquier's many recordings:- Mozart: Don GiovanniDon GiovanniDon 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...
(Gabriel Bacquier (Giovanni), Joan Sutherland (Anna), Pilar Lorengar (Elvira), Werner Krenn (Ottavio), Donald GrammDonald GrammDonald Gramm was an American bass-baritone whose career was divided between opera and concert performances. His appearances were primarily limited to the United States, which at the time was unusual for an American singer...
(Leporello), Marilyn HorneMarilyn HorneMarilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages....
(Zerlina), Leonardo Monreale (Masetto), Clifford GrantClifford GrantClifford Scantlebury Grant is a retired Australian operatic bass singer.Clifford Grant was born in Sydney. In 1966 he joined Sadler's Wells Opera company and on 20 December 1974 he had his debut at the Royal Opera House in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, in the role of Doctor Bartolo...
(Commendatore), Ambrosian Opera Chorus, English Chamber Orchestra). Conductor: Richard Bonynge. Decca 448 973-2 - OffenbachJacques OffenbachJacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
: Les Contes d'HoffmannLes contes d'HoffmannLes contes d'Hoffmann is an opéra by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on short stories by E. T. A...
(Placido DomingoPlácido DomingoPlácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
, Joan SutherlandJoan SutherlandDame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
, Gabriel Bacquier (Lindorf, Coppélius, Dapertutto, Dr Miracle), Paul Plishka, Huguette Tourangeau, Hugues Cuénod, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande). Conductor: Richard Bonynge. Decca.
- Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Roberto AlagnaRoberto AlagnaRoberto Alagna is a French-Italian tenor. He was born in Clichy-sous-Bois, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Early years:Alagna was born outside of the city of Paris in 1963 to a family of Sicilian immigrants . As a teenager, the young Alagna began busking and singing pop in Parisian cabarets for tips...
, Natalie Dessay, Sumi Jo, Leontina VaduvaLeontina VaduvaLeontina Vaduva [Văduva] is an acclaimed Romanian soprano. She studied at the Bucharest Conservatory and with Ileana Cotrubaş, and debuted in the title role of Manon at Toulouse, in 1987...
, Catherine Dubosc, José Van Dam, Michel Sénéchal, Ludovic Tezier, Gabriel Bacquier (Spalanzani, Schlemil, Crespel), Doris Lamprecht, Gilles Ragon, Jean-Marie Frémeau, Benoit Boutet, Gérard Théruel, Juanita Lascarro, Orchestre & Choeur de L'Opéra de Lyon). Conductor: Kent Nagano. Erato 0630143302 - Massenet: ManonManonManon 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...
(Beverly Sills, Gabriel Bacquier (Comte des Grieux), Gérard Souzay, Michel TrempontMichel TrempontMichel Trempont is a Belgian operatic baritone whose repertoire extends from the 18th century to the creation of contemporary works. His brother was Pol Trempont , operatic tenor and one time director of the Théâtre de Mons.-Life and career:After studies with Rogatchewsky, Trempont made his debut...
, Nico Castel, New Philharmonia Orchestra). Conductor: Julius Rudel. Deutsche Grammophon 247002 - Massenet: ThaïsThaïs (opera)Thaïs is an opera in three acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Gallet based on the novel Thaïs by Anatole France. It was first performed at the Opéra Garnier in Paris on 16 March 1894, starring the American soprano Sybil Sanderson, for whom Massenet had written the title role...
(Anna Moffo, Gabriel Bacquier (Athanaël), Jose Carreras, Justino Diaz, Ambrosian Chorus, New Philharmonia Orchestra). Conductor: Julius Rudel. RCA Red Seal.
- Debussy: 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...
(Gabriel Bacquier (Golaud), Michèle Command, Claude Dormoy, Monique Pouradier-Duteil, Roger Soyer, Jocelyne Taillon, Xavier Tamalet, Orchestre de Lyon). Conductor: Serge Baudo. Eurodisc.
- Bizet: La jolie fille de PerthLa jolie fille de PerthLa jolie fille de Perth is an opera in four acts by Georges Bizet , from a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jules Adenis, after the novel by Sir Walter Scott...
(June Anderson, Alfredo Kraus, Gino Quilico, José Van Dam, Gabriel Bacquier (Glover), Margarita Zimmermann, Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique). Conductor: Georges Prêtre. EMI 7475598 - Bizet: Les pêcheurs de perlesLes pêcheurs de perlesLes pêcheurs de perles is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was first performed on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances in its initial run...
(Jeanine Micheau (Leila), Alain VanzoAlain VanzoAlain Vanzo was a French opera singer and composer, one of few French tenors of international standing in the postwar era...
(Nadir), Gabriel Bacquier (Zurga), Lucien Lovano (Nourabad), Chœur de la RTF, Orchestre Radio-Lyrique, Conductor: Manuel RosenthalManuel RosenthalManuel Rosenthal was a French composer and conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and America...
). Paris, June 25, 1959. GALA GL 100.504
- Rossini: Guillaume Tell (Gabriel Bacquier (title role), Monserrat Caballé, Nicolai GeddaNicolai GeddaNicolai Gedda is a Swedish operatic tenor. Having made some two hundred recordings, Gedda is said to be the most widely recorded tenor in history...
, Mady Mesplé, Jocelyne Taillon, Louis Hendrikx, Kolos Kovacs, Gwynne Howell, Charles Burles, Ricardo Cassinelli, Nicholas Christou, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra). Conductor: Lamberto GardelliLamberto GardelliLamberto Gardelli was an Italian conductor, particularly associated with the Italian opera repertory, especially the works of Giuseppe Verdi....
. EMI.
External links
- Gabriel Bacquier Discography (Brian Capon's Lists of Opera Recordings)