André Baugé
Encyclopedia
André Gaston Baugé was a French baritone
, active in opera
and operetta
, who also appeared in films in the 1930s.
He made his debut at the Paris Opéra-Comique
as Frédéric in Lakmé in 1917. A pensionnaire at the Opéra-Comique until 1925, he appeared as Clément Marot in La Basoche
, Sylvanus in Au Beau Jardin de France, Figaro in Le Barbier de Séville
, Escamillo in Carmen
, Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana
, Don Giovanni, Clavaroche in Fortunio
, Lescaut in Manon
, the title role in Mârouf, savetier du Caire
, Ourrias in Mireille
, Jean in Les noces de Jeannette
, Silvio in Paillasse
, Pelléas, d’Orbel in La Traviata, Marcel in La boheme, and Albert in Werther
. He sang in the first performances at the Salle Favart of Béatrice
, Masques et Bergamasques
and Véronique
., and in 1925 at the Opéra
played Germont in Traviata and the title role in Mârouf, having been heard as Escamillo also in Monte Carlo the previous year.
In 1925 he sang in the French premiere of Monsieur Beaucaire
and moved into the field of comédie musicale and Viennese operetta. A succession of appearances in that genre followed: Venise (alongside his mother) in 1927, Paganini in 1928, Vouvray in 1929 (for which he wrote the text), Le Clown amoureux in 1929, Robert le Pirate
in 1929, Cinésonor in 1930 (also writing the text), Nina-Rosa in 1931, Valses de Vienne in 1933, Au temps des Merveilleuses in 1934, Au soleil du Mexique in 1935 and Le Chant du tzigane in 1937.
On film he appeared in La Route est belle, one of the first films with sound (1929-1930, music by Szulc) and other films up to 1935 when he returned to the theatre. As well as contributing to the books of several productions (Vouvray, Cinésonor) he designed the cover for the score of Venise by Richepin. He was for a time the director of the Trianon-Lyrique in Paris.
His wife was the singer Suzanne Laydeker (who also appeared as Laydeker-Baugé). After the war
he taught at the École Normale
, returning to the theatre in 1958 as Johann Strauss senior in Valses de Vienne. He left recordings of songs from many of his roles, and some of these have been re-issued on CD.
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...
, active in 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...
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:...
, who also appeared in films in the 1930s.
Life and career
The son of Alphonse Baugé, a vocal teacher, and Anna Tariol-Baugé a soprano active in operetta, he studied with his parents and appeared in the French provinces billed as André Grilland.He made his debut at 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...
as Frédéric in Lakmé in 1917. A pensionnaire at the Opéra-Comique until 1925, he appeared as Clément Marot in La Basoche
La Basoche
La Basoche is an opéra comique in three acts of 1890, with music by André Messager and a French libretto by Albert Carré.-History:Messager's 1889 opérette Le mari de la reine at Bouffes-Parisiens was a disappointment, and the composer and his wife were struggling to afford even basic necessities...
, Sylvanus in Au Beau Jardin de France, Figaro in Le Barbier de Séville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
, 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...
, Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
, Don Giovanni, Clavaroche in Fortunio
Fortunio (opera)
Fortunio comédie lyrique or opera in 4 Acts and 5 tableaux by composer André Messager. The French language libretto by Gaston Arman de Caillavet and Robert de Flers is based on Alfred de Musset's comedy Le Chandelier. A stage work in the opéra comique tradition, the opera contains some spoken...
, Lescaut in Manon
Manon
Manon 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...
, the title role in 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...
, Ourrias in Mireille
Mireille (opera)
Mireille is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Michel Carré after Frédéric Mistral's poem Mireio.-Composition history:...
, Jean in Les noces de Jeannette
Les noces de Jeannette
Les Noces de Jeannette is an opéra comique in one act by Victor Massé to a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré...
, Silvio in Paillasse
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
, Pelléas, d’Orbel in La Traviata, Marcel in La boheme, and Albert in Werther
Werther
Werther is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann based on the German epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe....
. He sang in the first performances at the Salle Favart of Béatrice
Béatrice (opera)
Béatrice is a légende lyrique in four acts of 1914, with music by André Messager and a French libretto by Caillavet and Flers, after the short story La légende de Soeur Béatrix by Nodier.-Background:...
, Masques et Bergamasques
Masques et Bergamasques
Masques et bergamasques is a twentieth-century musical homage to the world of the fêtes galantes of the eighteenth century by the French composer, organist, and choirmaster Gabriel Fauré ....
and Véronique
Véronique (operetta)
Véronique is an opéra comique or operetta in three acts composed by André Messager. The French libretto was by Georges Duval and Albert Vanloo...
., and in 1925 at the Opéra
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
played Germont in Traviata and the title role in Mârouf, having been heard as Escamillo also in Monte Carlo the previous year.
In 1925 he sang in the French premiere of 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...
and moved into the field of comédie musicale and Viennese operetta. A succession of appearances in that genre followed: Venise (alongside his mother) in 1927, Paganini in 1928, Vouvray in 1929 (for which he wrote the text), Le Clown amoureux in 1929, Robert le Pirate
The New Moon
The New Moon is the name of an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel, and Laurence Schwab. The show was the third and last in a string of Broadway hits for Romberg written in the style of Viennese operetta...
in 1929, Cinésonor in 1930 (also writing the text), Nina-Rosa in 1931, Valses de Vienne in 1933, Au temps des Merveilleuses in 1934, Au soleil du Mexique in 1935 and Le Chant du tzigane in 1937.
On film he appeared in La Route est belle, one of the first films with sound (1929-1930, music by Szulc) and other films up to 1935 when he returned to the theatre. As well as contributing to the books of several productions (Vouvray, Cinésonor) he designed the cover for the score of Venise by Richepin. He was for a time the director of the Trianon-Lyrique in Paris.
His wife was the singer Suzanne Laydeker (who also appeared as Laydeker-Baugé). After the war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he taught at the École Normale
École Normale de Musique de Paris
The École Normale de Musique de Paris is a leading conservatoire located in Paris, France. The school was founded by Auguste Mangeot and pianist Alfred Cortot in 1919...
, returning to the theatre in 1958 as Johann Strauss senior in Valses de Vienne. He left recordings of songs from many of his roles, and some of these have been re-issued on CD.
Filmography
- 1921 La Fleur des Indes
- 1930 Un caprice de la Pompadour
- 1930 La route est belle
- 1930 Petit Officier... Adieu !
- 1931 Le Petit café
- 1931 La Ronde des heures
- 1932 Pour un sou d'amour
- 1933 Le Barbier de Séville
- 1933 L'Ange gardien
- 1935 La Route heureuse
- 1935 Le Roman d'un jeune homme pauvre
- 1935 La Fille de madame Angot