Jacques-Joseph-André Bouhy (18 June 1848 - 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...

 – 24 January 1929) a Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 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...

, most famous for being the first to sing the Toreador Song

Toreador Song

The Toreador Song is one of the most famous arias from the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet. Sung by the matador Escamillo, it describes various situations in the ring, the cheering of the crowds and the fame that comes with victory.-Text:-In popular culture:* The song is mocked during the "I lost my...

 in the role of 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...

.

Bouhy was born in Pepinster

Pepinster

Pepinster is a Walloon municipality of Belgium in Province of Liege. On January 1, 2006 Pepinster had a total population of 9,560. The total area is 24.79 km² which gives a population density of 386 inhabitants per km²...

. After studying at the Liège Conservatory of Music, he made his début at the Paris Opéra as Méphistophélès (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...

) in 1871. He performed 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...

 as Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), Escamillo (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...

) in 1875. At the Comique he also created the role of Don César de Bazan

Don César de Bazan

Don César de Bazan is an opéra comique in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Adolphe d'Ennery, Jean Henri Dumanoir and Jules Chantepie, based on the drama Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo...

in 1872. In 1882 he appeared at Covent Garden

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...

 singing in Faust and Carmen. He spent time in the United States as the first director of the National Conservatory of Music of America

National Conservatory of Music of America

The National Conservatory of Music of America was an institution for higher education in music founded in 1885 in New York City by Jeannette Meyers Thurber...

 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...

 before returning to Paris to sing the High Priest in Samson et Dalila (1890). He was extremely popular with audiences, and counted Massenet among his admirers.

Singers taught by him or who received instruction from him include Gervase Elwes, Clara Butt

Clara Butt

Dame Clara Ellen Butt DBE , sometimes called Clara Butt-Rumford after her marriage, was an English contralto with a remarkably imposing voice and a surprisingly agile singing technique. Her main career was as a recitalist and concert singer.-Early life and career:Clara Butt was born in Southwick,...

, Louise Kirkby Lunn

Louise Kirkby Lunn

Louise Kirkby Lunn was an English contralto. Sometimes classified as a mezzo-soprano, she was a leading English-born singer of the first two decades of the 20th century, earning praise for her performances in concert, oratorio and opera.-Training:Kirkby Lunn had her early vocal training in her...

, Bessie Abbot, Suzanne Adams

Suzanne Adams

Suzanne Adams was an American lyric coloratura soprano. Known for her agile and pure voice, Adams first became well known in France before establishing herself as one of the Metropolitan Opera's leading sopranos at the beginning of the twentieth century.-Biography:Adams was born in Cambridge,...

, Leon Rains, Eva Gauthier

Éva Gauthier

Éva Gauthier was a Canadian mezzo-soprano and voice teacher. She performed and popularised songs by contemporary composers throughout her career and sang in the American premieres of several works by Erik Satie, Maurice Ravel and Igor Stravinsky, including the title role in the latter's...

, Lillian Blauvelt

Lillian Blauvelt

Lillian Blauvelt was a popular opera singer in New York City, USA in the first decade of the 20th century. Her voice was a lyric soprano with...

 and Louise Homer

Louise Homer

Louise Homer was an American operatic contralto who had an active international career in concert halls and opera houses from 1895 until her retirement in 1932. After a brief stint as a vaudeville entertainer in New England, she made her professional opera debut in France in 1898...

.

He died at 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...

in 1929.