Gabriel Bacquier

Gabriel Bacquier 17 May 1924 13 May 2020 was a French operatic baritone One of the leading baritones of the 20th century and particularly associated with the French and Italian repertoires he was considered a fine singing actor equally at home in dramatic or comic roles and gave regular song recitals He was a longterm member of the OpéraComique and the Paris Opera but forged a long career internationally at leading opera houses in Europe and the US His large discography spans five decades and he was considered as the ambassador of French song Born Gabriel AugustinRaymondThéodoreLouis Bacquier in Béziers France on 17 May 1924 he was the only child of railway employees As a young boy he was fascinated by everything to do with singing records broadcasts and photos of singers Leaving school aged 14 he worked at his uncles printshop while studying in Montpellier to become a commercial artist but during the Vichy regime to avoid the roundups and deportations by the Service du travail obligatoire his parents arranged for him to do national service in the Chantiers de Jeunesse on the railways during the Occupation As a teenager he took voice lessons with a Madame Bastard in Béziers in his free time and made his operatic debut during the war as Ourrias in Gounods Mireille in the town arena After World War II he entered the Paris Conservatoire receiving a scholarship because of his familys modest means and graduated in 1950 He was a contemporary of and shared his student life with future leading French singers Régine Crespin Xavier Depraz Michel Sénéchal and Michel Roux In his final year the director of the Conservatoire Claude Delvincourt allowed him leave to work at the Opéra de Nice in the 194950 season singing small roles in operas and operettas this along with regular singing spots in cinemas gave him important experience and income before his next career steps Having already gained a first prize for opéra comique in his penultimate year he won first prize for singing and second prize for opera at the conclusion of his formal studies Around this time he also took a course in dramatic art He joined the opera company of José Beckmans in 1950 and was a member of La Monnaie in Brussels from 1953 until 1956 making his debut in the title role of Rossinis Il barbiere di Siviglia There he sang the French repertory both in opera Gounods Faust Delibes Lakmé Massenets Manon and Werther and in operetta Angélique La belle Hélène Les cloches de Corneville Miss Heylett Monsieur Beaucaire He also appeared there in Puccinis La bohème and Madama Butterfly and in Smetanas The Bartered Bride While at the Monnaie the French soprano Martha Angelici whose husband was François Agostini director of the OpéraComique at the time sang in Les pêcheurs de perles with him she suggested that he audition for the Paris company which accepted him Source Article Gabriel Bacquier from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30