Edmond Duvernoy
Encyclopedia
Charles-Henri Edmond Duvernoy (16 June 184412 January 1927) was a French pianist, baritone
and vocal teacher, from a family of musicians.
. He was taught initially by his father, Charles-François Duvernoy, then studied at the Paris Conservatoire. A fine pianist, he began to teach, then studied singing, joining the Opéra-Comique
company. He made his stage debut as Mercutio in the first performance at the Opéra-Comique of Gounod
's Roméo et Juliette
on 20 January 1873. He also sang Moralès in the premiere of Bizet
's Carmen
in 1875; Bizet composed three versions of the mélodrame in Act 1 for Duvernoy.
According to Malherbe, he had a relatively soft voice, but he used it with good taste, and with sufficient talent to enable him to became later one of the most esteemed vocal teachers.
He sang Ganymède in Galathée in 1873, alongside his future wife, Mlle Franck, a soprano of the Opéra-Comique. Duvernoy and his wife moved to the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1877. Both of them participated in the private 'premiere' of Offenbach’s Les contes d'Hoffmann on 18 May 1879, Duvernoy playing the piano.
From October 1887 to 1910 Duvernoy was a singing professor at the Conservatoire de Paris
, with many important artists among his pupils including Aino Ackté
. He also composed some songs.
He died in Paris in 1927, aged 82. His brother was Alphonse Duvernoy
, pianist and composer.
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...
and vocal teacher, from a family of musicians.
Life and career
Edmond Duvernoy was born in ParisParis
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...
. He was taught initially by his father, Charles-François Duvernoy, then studied at the Paris Conservatoire. A fine pianist, he began to teach, then studied singing, joining 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...
company. He made his stage debut as Mercutio in the first performance at the Opéra-Comique of Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
's Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette is an opéra in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It was first performed at the Théâtre Lyrique , Paris on 27 April 1867...
on 20 January 1873. He also sang Moralès in the premiere of Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's 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; Bizet composed three versions of the mélodrame in Act 1 for Duvernoy.
According to Malherbe, he had a relatively soft voice, but he used it with good taste, and with sufficient talent to enable him to became later one of the most esteemed vocal teachers.
He sang Ganymède in Galathée in 1873, alongside his future wife, Mlle Franck, a soprano of the Opéra-Comique. Duvernoy and his wife moved to the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1877. Both of them participated in the private 'premiere' of Offenbach’s Les contes d'Hoffmann on 18 May 1879, Duvernoy playing the piano.
From October 1887 to 1910 Duvernoy was a singing professor at 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...
, with many important artists among his pupils including Aino Ackté
Aino Ackté
Aino Ackté was a Finnish soprano. She was the first international star of the Finnish opera scene after Alma Fohström, and a groundbreaker for the domestic field....
. He also composed some songs.
He died in Paris in 1927, aged 82. His brother was Alphonse Duvernoy
Alphonse Duvernoy
Victor-Alphonse Duvernoy was a French pianist and composer.-Life and career:Duvernoy, son of noted bass-baritone Charles-François Duvernoy , was a student of Antoine François Marmontel, François Bazin and Mathurin Barbereau at the Conservatoire de Paris where he studied piano from 1886...
, pianist and composer.
Sources
- Pierre Key's international music year book. Pierre Key, New York 1928.
- Brigitte Labat-Poussin, Jean Favier: Archives du theatre national de l'opera. Inventaire. Archives Nationales, Paris 1977.