Charles Friant
Encyclopedia
Auguste Charles Paul Friant (January 12, 1890 – April 22, 1947), was a French
tenor
.
Friant was born in the Montmartre
district of Paris
. His father was a principal ballet dancer, and his grandfather a professor of ballet
at the Paris Opéra
. While a boy, Charles Friant sang in the opera chorus, and appeared in the premiere of Vincent d'Indy
’s opera L'Etranger in 1902. Friant attended ballet school in Paris from 1901-1906. He met his wife to be, Mademoiselle Mougot, at the ballet school where she taught an acting course in which Friant enrolled. He then trained as an actor with Sarah Bernhardt
, joining her company touring Europe 1908-1909. This included performing opposite Bernhardt in Edmond Rostand
’s L'Aiglon
. In 1910 it was discovered he had a tenor voice, and he went to the Conservatoire de Paris
to study singing with noted baritone Léon Melchissédec
. On graduating in 1914, he was awarded a first prize in singing as a pupil of Alphonse Leduc Hettich and a first prize in opéra-comique as a student of Melchisédec.
His operatic debut, postponed by illness and World War I
was as Spakos in the first French performance of Jules Massenet
’s Cléopâtre
at the Théâtre Lyrique du Vaudeville. One notice stated "here is a young tenor of whom it is possible to expect much, especially if he improves his enunciation". Between 1918-1919 he sang at Grenoble
's Grand Théâtre.
Friant became a principal tenor of the Opéra comique
from 1920-1939. His debut at that company, at the Salle Favart, was on February 4, 1920 in the title role of Massenet's opera Werther
. Werther became one of his signature roles. He was immediately acclaimed as an extraordinary singer. Friant had a wide repertory, including the title role in Henri Rabaud
’s Marouf, Le Chevalier des Grieux in Manon
, Gérald in Lakmé
, Jean in Le jongleur de Notre Dame
(another signature role), Canio in Pagliacci
, Cavaradossi in Tosca
, and Don José in Carmen
.
With his acting ability, he was often chosen to create roles in new operas. He sang in the premieres of Le roi Candaule by Alfred Bruneau
(as Gygès); and Le Bon Roi Dagobert (as Dagobert), La Hulla (as Narsès), Deux sous de fleurs by Ralph Benatzky
, Mandrin by Joseph Szulc (as Antoine), and the title role in Tarass-Boulba by Marcel Louis Auguste Samuel-Rousseau. Other works of his day he was chosen for included le Prince Charmant in Louis Aubert
’s La Forêt Bleue and Raphael in Charles Levadé’s La Peau de chagrin.
Besides Grenoble and Paris Friant also sang at the casino in Biarritz
, the Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie
in Brussels
, the Opéra de Marseille
, and the Nice
Opera. Friant appeared at the Algiers Opera (now the Théâtre National Algérien) in the 1926/1927 season in Manon, Tosca, Werther, and Le jongleur de Notre Dame; and in the 1931/32 season in La Peau de chagrin.
His final performance was at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo
on February 2, 1946 in Carmen in the supporting role of Le Dancaïre. He never sang at the Paris Opéra. He died after a long illness at age 57 in Paris.
He has been described as a lyric tenor of surpassing sensitivity. Friant was known for his quick vibrato
, articulation and exquisite phrasing. He made each of the characters he portrayed unforgettable. His use of dynamics reached deeply, touching his listeners with more than just the beauty of his voice. Due to his training Friant possessed not only an expressive voice but also a ballet dancer's movement and an actor’s sense of gesture. In a review of some of his recordings, William Ashbrook wrote: "For those who think singing is all beautifully rounded tones, Friant will never make the top twenty, but for listeners who respond to deeply felt dramatic expression he will always be regarded as a cherishable artist". His was a style of classic French singing that died out after World War II
.
Friant made acoustical recordings for Pathé
and the Compagnie Française du Gramophone and electrical recordings for Odéon. He was featured in EMI
’s The Record of Singing
volume 2 (1914-1925) “The French Tradition in Decline”.
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...
tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
.
Friant was born in the Montmartre
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
district of 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...
. His father was a principal ballet dancer, and his grandfather a professor of ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
at the Paris Opéra
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...
. While a boy, Charles Friant sang in the opera chorus, and appeared in the premiere of Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy was a French composer and teacher.-Life:Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy was born in Paris into an aristocratic family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. He had piano lessons from an early age from his paternal grandmother, who passed him on to Antoine François Marmontel and...
’s opera L'Etranger in 1902. Friant attended ballet school in Paris from 1901-1906. He met his wife to be, Mademoiselle Mougot, at the ballet school where she taught an acting course in which Friant enrolled. He then trained as an actor with Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
, joining her company touring Europe 1908-1909. This included performing opposite Bernhardt in Edmond Rostand
Edmond Rostand
Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism, and is best known for his play Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand's romantic plays provided an alternative to the naturalistic theatre popular during the late nineteenth century...
’s L'Aiglon
L'Aiglon
L'Aiglon is a play in six acts by Edmond Rostand based on the life of Napoleon's son, Napoleon II of France, Duke of Reichstadt. The title comes from a nickname for Napoleon II, the French word for "eaglet" . The title role was created by Sarah Bernhardt in the play's premiere on 15 March 1900 at...
. In 1910 it was discovered he had a tenor voice, and he went to the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire 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...
to study singing with noted baritone Léon Melchissédec
Léon Melchissédec
Léon Melchissédec was a French baritone who enjoyed a long career in the French capital across a broad range of operatic genres, and later made some recordings and also taught at the Paris Conservatoire.-Life and Career:He played second violin in the Théâtre de Saint-Étienne before coming to Paris...
. On graduating in 1914, he was awarded a first prize in singing as a pupil of Alphonse Leduc Hettich and a first prize in opéra-comique as a student of Melchisédec.
His operatic debut, postponed by illness and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
was as Spakos in the first French performance of Jules Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
’s Cléopâtre
Cléopâtre
Cléopâtre is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Payen. It was first performed in at the Opéra Monte-Carlo on February 23, 1914, nearly two years after Massenet's death....
at the Théâtre Lyrique du Vaudeville. One notice stated "here is a young tenor of whom it is possible to expect much, especially if he improves his enunciation". Between 1918-1919 he sang at Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
's Grand Théâtre.
Friant became a principal tenor of the Opéra comique
Opéra comique
Opéra comique is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged out of the popular opéra comiques en vaudevilles of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent , which combined existing popular tunes with spoken sections...
from 1920-1939. His debut at that company, at the Salle Favart, was on February 4, 1920 in the title role of Massenet's opera 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....
. Werther became one of his signature roles. He was immediately acclaimed as an extraordinary singer. Friant had a wide repertory, including the title role in 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 Marouf, Le Chevalier des Grieux 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...
, Gérald in Lakmé
Lakmé
Lakmé is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. Delibes wrote the score during 1881–82 with its first performance on 14 April 1883 at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Set in British India in the mid 19th century, Lakmé is based on the 1880 novel...
, Jean in Le jongleur de Notre Dame
Le jongleur de Notre Dame
Le Jongleur de Notre Dame is a religious miracle story by the French author Anatole France, published in 1892 and based on an old medieval legend. Similar to the later Christmas carol The Little Drummer Boy, it tells the story of a juggler turned monk who has no gift to offer a statue of the Virgin...
(another signature role), Canio in Pagliacci
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...
, Cavaradossi 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 Don José 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...
.
With his acting ability, he was often chosen to create roles in new operas. He sang in the premieres of Le roi Candaule by Alfred Bruneau
Alfred Bruneau
Louis-Charles-Bonaventure-Alfred Bruneau was a French composer who played a key role in the introduction of realism in French opera....
(as Gygès); and Le Bon Roi Dagobert (as Dagobert), La Hulla (as Narsès), Deux sous de fleurs by Ralph Benatzky
Ralph Benatzky
Ralph Benatzky , Moravia, Austrian Empire – 16 October 1957), born in Moravské Budějovice as Rudolf Josef František Benatzki, was an Austrian composer of Czech origin...
, Mandrin by Joseph Szulc (as Antoine), and the title role in Tarass-Boulba by Marcel Louis Auguste Samuel-Rousseau. Other works of his day he was chosen for included le Prince Charmant in Louis Aubert
Louis Aubert
Louis François Marie Aubert was a French composer.-Biography:Louis Aubert was a child prodigy. His parents, recognizing their son's musical talent, sent him to Paris to receive an education at an early age...
’s La Forêt Bleue and Raphael in Charles Levadé’s La Peau de chagrin.
Besides Grenoble and Paris Friant also sang at the casino in Biarritz
Biarritz
Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....
, the Théâtre Royal de 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...
, the 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....
, and the Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
Opera. Friant appeared at the Algiers Opera (now the Théâtre National Algérien) in the 1926/1927 season in Manon, Tosca, Werther, and Le jongleur de Notre Dame; and in the 1931/32 season in La Peau de chagrin.
His final performance was at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house located in the principality of Monaco.With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des Bains de Mer, decided on the construction of an opera house. Initially, it was Charles III's...
on February 2, 1946 in Carmen in the supporting role of Le Dancaïre. He never sang at the Paris Opéra. He died after a long illness at age 57 in Paris.
He has been described as a lyric tenor of surpassing sensitivity. Friant was known for his quick vibrato
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
, articulation and exquisite phrasing. He made each of the characters he portrayed unforgettable. His use of dynamics reached deeply, touching his listeners with more than just the beauty of his voice. Due to his training Friant possessed not only an expressive voice but also a ballet dancer's movement and an actor’s sense of gesture. In a review of some of his recordings, William Ashbrook wrote: "For those who think singing is all beautifully rounded tones, Friant will never make the top twenty, but for listeners who respond to deeply felt dramatic expression he will always be regarded as a cherishable artist". His was a style of classic French singing that died out after World War II
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...
.
Friant made acoustical recordings for Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
and the Compagnie Française du Gramophone and electrical recordings for Odéon. He was featured in EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
’s The Record of Singing
The Record of Singing
The Record of Singing is a compilation of classical-music singing from the first half of the 20th century, the era of the 78-rpm record.It was issued on LP by EMI, successor to the British company His Master's Voice — perhaps the leading organization in the early history of audio recording.The...
volume 2 (1914-1925) “The French Tradition in Decline”.