Michel Trempont
Encyclopedia
Michel Trempont is a Belgian operatic baritone
whose repertoire extends from the 18th century to the creation of contemporary works. His brother was Pol Trempont (1923–2007), operatic tenor and one time director of the Théâtre de Mons.
in 1952 as Valentin. He then appeared at La Monnaie
in 1956, where he went on to sing, among other roles:
Le mari in Menotti's Amelia Goes to the Ball
, Le Mesge in Henri Tomasi
's L'atlantide, Ajax Deuxième in Offenbach's La belle Hélène
, Marcello in Puccini's La bohème
, Moralès in Bizet's Carmen, Silvio in Leoncavallo's Pagliaci, Tourillon in Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus
(as La chauve-souris), Roger de Lansquenet in Reynaldo Hahn's Ciboulette
, Jean in Bohuslav Martinů's Comedy on the Bridge
(as Comédie sur le pont), Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni
(as Don Juan), Le frère jardinier in Tomasi's Don Juan de Manara, a vagabond in Carl Orff's Die Kluge
(as Echec au roi), Maître Pausanias in Chabrier's Une éducation manquée
, Valentin in Gounod's Faust
, Louchard in Charles Lecocq's La fille de Madame Angot
, Le marquis Bambini in Offenbach's La fille du tambour-major
, Vitellius in Massenet's Hérodiade
, Jun (one of the gangsters) in Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate
, Frédéric in Léo Delibes' Lakmé
, a rascal in Orff's Der Mond
(as La lune), Banquo in Verdi's Macbeth
, De Brétigny in Massenet's Manon
, Bacarel in Edmond Audran
's Miss Helyett, Borello in Henry Février's Monna Vanna
, Bantison in André Messager's Monsieur Beaucaire
, Bridaine in Louis Varney's Les mousquetaires au couvent
, Phorbas in Enescu's Œdipe, Le chien in Albert Wolff's L'oiseau bleu
, the Beggar in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera
(as L'opéra du gueux), Gustav von Pottenstein in Franz Lehár's The Land of Smiles
(as Le pays du sourire), Panatellas in Offenbach's La Périchole
, Ceprano in Verdi's Rigoletto
, Moussoul in Adolphe Adam's Si j'étais roi
, Monsieur Choufleuri in Offenbach's M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le . . .
, Gardefeu in Offenbach's La vie parisienne
, and Albert in Massenet's Werther
.
Trempont attained an international career with performances at the Opéra-Comique
in Paris, at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, the Royal Opera House
London, La Scala
, Milan, La Fenice
, Venice, Teatro San Carlo in Naples and San Francisco Opera
. His repertoire has included Figaro (in both Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia), Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte
), Rimbaud (Le Comte Ory
), Sulpice (La fille du régiment
), Fieramosca (Benvenuto Cellini
), Taddeo (L'Italiana in Algeri
), Sancho (Don Quichotte
), and the king in Prokofiev's L'Amour des trois oranges.
At Grand Théâtre de Genève
his roles have included: the Sacristan, Pandolphe (Cendrillon
), Le Baron de Gondremarck, Crespel, Peter (Hänsel et Gretel), Carpe (La Forêt), V’lan (Le voyage dans la lune
, also televised), and Pantalon (L'Amour des trois oranges).
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...
whose repertoire extends from the 18th century to the creation of contemporary works. His brother was Pol Trempont (1923–2007), operatic tenor and one time director of the Théâtre de Mons.
Life and career
After studies with Rogatchewsky, Trempont made his debut in LiègeOpéra Royal de Wallonie
The Opéra Royal de Wallonie ' is an opera house in Liège, Belgium, one of four situated in that country.- External links :*...
in 1952 as Valentin. He then appeared at La Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
in 1956, where he went on to sing, among other roles:
Le mari in Menotti's Amelia Goes to the Ball
Amelia Goes to the Ball
Amelia Goes to the Ball is an opera buffa in one act composed by Gian Carlo Menotti. Menotti also wrote the original Italian libretto. Composed when he was twenty-three, it was Menotti's first mature opera and his first critical success...
, Le Mesge in Henri Tomasi
Henri Tomasi
Henri Tomasi was a French classical composer and conductor.- The early years :Henri Tomasi was born in Marseille, France, in the working class neighborhood on August 17, 1901. His father Xavier Tomasi and mother Josephine Vincensi were originally from La Casinca, Corsica...
's L'atlantide, Ajax Deuxième in Offenbach's La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène , opéra bouffe in three acts, is an operetta by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy...
, Marcello in Puccini's La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, Moralès in Bizet's Carmen, Silvio in Leoncavallo's Pagliaci, Tourillon in Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
(as La chauve-souris), Roger de Lansquenet in Reynaldo Hahn's Ciboulette
Ciboulette
Ciboulette is a French opérette in three acts, music by Reynaldo Hahn, libretto by Robert de Flers and Francis de Croisset, first performed at the Théâtre des Variétés, in Paris, on April 7, 1923...
, Jean in Bohuslav Martinů's Comedy on the Bridge
Comedy on the Bridge
Comedy on the Bridge is an opera in one act by Bohuslav Martinů to a Czech libretto by the composer, based on the comedy by Václav Kliment Klicpera.-Performance history:...
(as Comédie sur le pont), Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
(as Don Juan), Le frère jardinier in Tomasi's Don Juan de Manara, a vagabond in Carl Orff's Die Kluge
Die Kluge
Die Kluge. Die Geschichte von dem König und der klugen Frau is an opera in 12 scenes written by Carl Orff. It premiered in Frankfurt, Germany, on 20 February 1943. Orff referred to this opera as a Märchenoper...
(as Echec au roi), Maître Pausanias in Chabrier's Une éducation manquée
Une éducation manquée
Une éducation manquée is an opérette in one act and nine scenes by Emmanuel Chabrier. The French libretto was by Eugène Leterrier and Albert Vanloo. Composed in 1878-79, the work, which is set in the 18th century, is in a lively, light operetta style in which Chabrier excelled and had perfected in...
, Valentin in Gounod's 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...
, Louchard in Charles Lecocq's La fille de Madame Angot
La fille de Madame Angot
La fille de Madame Angot is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq. The French text was by Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning.-Performance history:...
, Le marquis Bambini in Offenbach's La fille du tambour-major
La fille du tambour-major
La fille du tambour-major is an opéra comique, or operetta, in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Alfred Duru and Henri Charles Chivot ....
, Vitellius in Massenet's Hérodiade
Hérodiade
Hérodiade is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Paul Milliet and Henri Grémont, based on the novella Hérodias by Gustave Flaubert...
, Jun (one of the gangsters) in Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
, Frédéric in Léo Delibes' 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...
, a rascal in Orff's Der Mond
Der Mond
Der Mond is an opera in one act by Carl Orff based on a Brothers Grimm fairy tale with a libretto by the composer. It was first performed on 5 February 1939 by the Bavarian State Opera in Munich under the direction of Clemens Krauss...
(as La lune), Banquo in Verdi's Macbeth
Macbeth (opera)
Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name...
, De Brétigny in Massenet's 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...
, Bacarel in Edmond Audran
Edmond Audran
Achille Edmond Audran was a French composer best known for several internationally successful operettas, including Les noces d'Olivette , La mascotte , Gillette de Narbonne , La cigale et la fourmi , Miss Helyett , and La poupée .After Audran's initial success in Paris, his works also became a...
's Miss Helyett, Borello in Henry Février's Monna Vanna
Monna Vanna (Février)
Monna Vanna is a drame lyrique or opera in four acts by composer Henry Février. The opera's French libretto is by playwright Maurice Maeterlinck and is based on his play of the same name. The opera premiered on 13 January 1909 at the Académie Nationale de Musique in Paris.- Roles :-External links:**...
, Bantison in André Messager's 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...
, Bridaine in Louis Varney's Les mousquetaires au couvent
Les mousquetaires au couvent
Les mousquetaires au couvent is an opérette in three acts by Louis Varney, with a libretto by Jules Prével and Paul Ferrier, after a vaudeville by St-Hilaire and Dupont from 1835 entitled L'habit ne fait pas le moine...
, Phorbas in Enescu's Œdipe, Le chien in Albert Wolff's L'oiseau bleu
L'oiseau bleu
L'oiseau bleu is an opera in four acts by the French composer and conductor Albert Wolff. The libretto by Maurice Maeterlinck is based on his 1908 play of the same name.-Performance history:...
, the Beggar in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today...
(as L'opéra du gueux), Gustav von Pottenstein in Franz Lehár's The Land of Smiles
The Land of Smiles
The Land of Smiles is a romantic operetta in three acts by Franz Lehár. The German language libretto was by Ludwig Herzer and Fritz Löhner. The performance time is about 100 minutes....
(as Le pays du sourire), Panatellas in Offenbach's La Périchole
La Périchole
La Périchole is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the French-language libretto based on the 1829 one act play Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement by Prosper Mérimée, which was revived on 13 March 1850 at the Théâtre-Français...
, Ceprano in Verdi's Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
, Moussoul in Adolphe Adam's Si j'étais roi
Si j'étais roi
Si j'étais roi is an opéra-comique in three acts by Adolphe Adam. The libretto was written by Adolphe d'Ennery and Jules-Henri Brésil...
, Monsieur Choufleuri in Offenbach's M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le . . .
M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le . . .
M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le... is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, in one act by Jacques Offenbach and the Duc de Morny...
, Gardefeu in Offenbach's La vie parisienne
La vie parisienne
La vie parisienne is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, composed by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy.This work was Offenbach's first full-length piece to portray contemporary Parisian life, unlike his earlier period pieces and mythological subjects...
, and Albert in Massenet's 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....
.
Trempont attained an international career with performances 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...
in Paris, at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, the Royal Opera House
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...
London, La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
, Milan, La Fenice
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
, Venice, Teatro San Carlo in Naples and San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
. His repertoire has included Figaro (in both Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia), Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
), Rimbaud (Le Comte Ory
Le comte Ory
Le comte Ory is an opéra written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera Il viaggio a Reims written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X...
), Sulpice (La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. It was written while the composer was living in Paris, with a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard.La figlia del reggimento, a slightly different Italian-language version , was...
), Fieramosca (Benvenuto Cellini
Benvenuto Cellini
Benvenuto Cellini was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, painter, soldier and musician, who also wrote a famous autobiography. He was one of the most important artists of Mannerism.-Youth:...
), Taddeo (L'Italiana in Algeri
L'italiana in Algeri
L'italiana in Algeri is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca...
), Sancho (Don Quichotte
Don Quichotte
Don Quichotte is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn.Massenet's comédie-héroïque, like so many other dramatized versions of the story of Don Quixote, relates only indirectly to the great novel by Miguel de Cervantes...
), and the king in Prokofiev's L'Amour des trois oranges.
At Grand Théâtre de Genève
Grand Théâtre de Genève
Grand Théâtre de Genève is an opera house in Geneva, Switzerland.As with many other opera houses, the Grand Théâtre de Genève is both a venue and an institution. The venue is a majestic building, towering over Place Neuve, officially opened in 1876, partly destroyed by fire in 1951 and reopened in...
his roles have included: the Sacristan, Pandolphe (Cendrillon
Cendrillon
Cendrillon is an opera—described as a "fairy tale"—in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Cain based on Perrault's 1698 version of the Cinderella fairy tale. The scenario was conceived by Massenet and Cain at the Cavendish Hotel while they were in London for the...
), Le Baron de Gondremarck, Crespel, Peter (Hänsel et Gretel), Carpe (La Forêt), V’lan (Le voyage dans la lune
Le Voyage dans la Lune
A Trip to the Moon is a 1902 French black-and-white silent science fiction film. It is based loosely on two popular novels of the time: Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon and H. G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon....
, also televised), and Pantalon (L'Amour des trois oranges).
Discography
List of recordings of complete operas by composer with title, recording label, and role:- Adolphe Adam: Le toréadorLe toréadorLe toréador, ou L'accord parfait is an opéra comique in two acts by the French composer Adolphe Adam with a libretto by Thomas-Marie-François Sauvage. It was first performed at the Opéra-Comique, Paris on May 18, 1849. It was a huge success and the work regularly appeared in the repertoire of the...
(Decca) – Don Belflor - Daniel Auber: Fra DiavoloFra Diavolo (opera)Fra Diavolo, ou L'hôtellerie de Terracine is an opéra comique in three acts by the French composer Daniel Auber, from a libretto by Auber's regular collaborator Eugène Scribe...
(EMI) - Giacomo - Georges Bizet: CarmenCarmenCarmen 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...
(EMI) – Dancaire - Gaetano Donizetti: La fille du régimentLa fille du régimentLa fille du régiment is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. It was written while the composer was living in Paris, with a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard.La figlia del reggimento, a slightly different Italian-language version , was...
(EMI) – Sulpice - André Grétry: Richard Coeur-de-lionRichard Coeur-de-lion (opera)Richard Coeur-de-lion is an opéra comique, described as a comédie mise en musique, by the Belgian composer André Grétry. was by Michel-Jean Sedaine. The work is generally recognised as Grétry's masterpiece and one of the most important French opéras comiques...
(EMI) – Blondel - Jules Massenet: ManonManonManon 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...
(DG) - Brétigny - André Messager: FortunioFortunio (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...
(EMI) - Maître André - Jacques OffenbachJacques OffenbachJacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
:- Les brigandsLes brigandsLes brigands is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy....
(EMI) - Pietro - Mesdames de la HalleMesdames de la HalleMesdames de la Halle is an opérette bouffe in one act by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Armand Lapointe. It was first performed at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, Paris on 3 March 1858. and was the first work of Offenbach's at the Bouffes with a chorus and a large cast...
(EMI) – Madame Madou - Monsieur Choufleuri restera…M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le . . .M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le... is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, in one act by Jacques Offenbach and the Duc de Morny...
(EMI) – Petermann - Orphée aux enfers (EMI) - Jupiter
- La PéricholeLa PéricholeLa Périchole is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the French-language libretto based on the 1829 one act play Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement by Prosper Mérimée, which was revived on 13 March 1850 at the Théâtre-Français...
(EMI) - Panatellas - La vie parisienneLa vie parisienneLa vie parisienne is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, composed by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy.This work was Offenbach's first full-length piece to portray contemporary Parisian life, unlike his earlier period pieces and mythological subjects...
(EMI) – Bobinet
- Les brigands
- Gioachino Rossini: La Cambiale di MatrimonioLa cambiale di matrimonioLa cambiale di matrimonio is a one-act operatic farsa comica by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Gaetano Rossi. The libretto was based on the play by Camillo Federici and a previous libretto by Giuseppe Checcherini for Carlo Coccia's 1807 opera, Il matrimonio per lettera di cambio...
(Universal) - Mill - Ambroise Thomas: HamletHamlet (opera)Hamlet is an opéra in five acts by the French composer Ambroise Thomas, with a libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier based on a French adaptation by Alexandre Dumas, père and Paul Meurice of Shakespeare's play Hamlet.- Ophelia mania in Paris:...
(EMI) – Polonius - Louis Varney: Les mousquetaires au couventLes mousquetaires au couventLes mousquetaires au couvent is an opérette in three acts by Louis Varney, with a libretto by Jules Prével and Paul Ferrier, after a vaudeville by St-Hilaire and Dupont from 1835 entitled L'habit ne fait pas le moine...
(EMI) - Brissac