Édouard Woolley
Encyclopedia
Édouard Joseph Woolley was a Canadian tenor
, actor
, composer
, and music educator of Haiti
an birth. He became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1958. His compositional output includes masses for three voices and for four voices, a few songs, and some instrumental pieces. The section "Mazoumbel" from his suite for violin and piano Sous les palmiers (ca 1958) was performed in a concert of Haitian music in Montreal in 1979.
, Woolley began his studies in his native city with Carmen Brouard (piano and harmony), Élisabeth de Pesquidoux-Mahy (singing), Werner Jaegerhuber (German opera/lieder), Raoul Nargys (acting), and Henriette Perret-Duplessis (singing). After working for a few years as a choirmaster at a church in Port-au-Prince, he moved to Montreal in 1938 at the age of 22 where he studied singing with Salvator Issaurel from the time of his arrival through 1944. He then entered the Conservatoire national de musique
where he earned a Doctor of Music
in 1947 after writing his thesis "La phonétique appliquée à l'art du chant". At the conservatoire he was an organ student of Eugène Lapierre
and a piano pupil of Edmond Trudel.
In 1942 Woolley made his professional opera debut as Antonin in Reynaldo Hahn
's Ciboulette
at Les Variétés lyriques (LVL) in Montreal. That same year he began operating his own private voice studio which he ran for several decades. Among his notable students were Joseph Rouleau
and André Turp
. He was a principal artist at the LVL through 1947, spending five seasons performing leading roles in works like François Bazin
's Le voyage en Chine and Oscar Straus
's Drei Walzer. During the 1940s through the 1960s he performed as a singer and actor on a variety of CBC Radio
and CBC Television
programs and appeared in supporting roles on the dramatic stage and in Canadian films.
In 1948 Woolley founded the Opéra national du Québec, serving as the company's first artistic director through 1952. From 1967 until his retirement in 1981 he taught art history
at the Cégep du Vieux Montréal
. He served as the director of the Conservatoire national de musique from 1971-1975. He died in Miami in 1991 at the age of 75.
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...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and music educator of Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an birth. He became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1958. His compositional output includes masses for three voices and for four voices, a few songs, and some instrumental pieces. The section "Mazoumbel" from his suite for violin and piano Sous les palmiers (ca 1958) was performed in a concert of Haitian music in Montreal in 1979.
Life and career
Born in Port-au-PrincePort-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
, Woolley began his studies in his native city with Carmen Brouard (piano and harmony), Élisabeth de Pesquidoux-Mahy (singing), Werner Jaegerhuber (German opera/lieder), Raoul Nargys (acting), and Henriette Perret-Duplessis (singing). After working for a few years as a choirmaster at a church in Port-au-Prince, he moved to Montreal in 1938 at the age of 22 where he studied singing with Salvator Issaurel from the time of his arrival through 1944. He then entered the Conservatoire national de musique
Conservatoire national de musique
Conservatoire national de musique was a music conservatory in Montreal, Quebec that was actively providing higher education in music during the first eight decades of the 20th century...
where he earned a Doctor of Music
Doctor of Music
The Doctor of Music degree , like other doctorates, is an academic degree of the highest level. The D.Mus. is intended for musicians and composers who wish to combine the highest attainments in their area of specialization with doctoral-level academic study in music...
in 1947 after writing his thesis "La phonétique appliquée à l'art du chant". At the conservatoire he was an organ student of Eugène Lapierre
Eugène Lapierre
Eugène Lapierre was a Canadian organist, composer, journalist, writer on music, arts administrator, and music educator. He was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935 and the King George VI Coronation Medal in 1937...
and a piano pupil of Edmond Trudel.
In 1942 Woolley made his professional opera debut as Antonin in Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn was a Venezuelan, naturalised French, composer, conductor, music critic and diarist. Best known as a composer of songs, he wrote in the French classical tradition of the mélodie....
'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...
at Les Variétés lyriques (LVL) in Montreal. That same year he began operating his own private voice studio which he ran for several decades. Among his notable students were Joseph Rouleau
Joseph Rouleau
Joseph A. Rouleau, is a French-Canadian bass opera singer, particularly associated with the Italian and French repertories....
and André Turp
André Turp
André Turp was a Canadian tenor, particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories.- Life and career :...
. He was a principal artist at the LVL through 1947, spending five seasons performing leading roles in works like François Bazin
François Bazin
François Emmanuel Joseph Bazin was a well-known French opera composer during the nineteenth century. His works are not widely performed today.-Biography:...
's Le voyage en Chine and Oscar Straus
Oscar Straus (composer)
Oscar Nathan Straus was a Viennese composer of operettas and film scores and songs. He also wrote about 500 cabaret songs, chamber music, and orchestral and choral works...
's Drei Walzer. During the 1940s through the 1960s he performed as a singer and actor on a variety of CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
and CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
programs and appeared in supporting roles on the dramatic stage and in Canadian films.
In 1948 Woolley founded the Opéra national du Québec, serving as the company's first artistic director through 1952. From 1967 until his retirement in 1981 he taught art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
at the Cégep du Vieux Montréal
Cégep du Vieux Montréal
Cégep du Vieux Montréal is a CEGEP located at 255 rue Ontario Est, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
. He served as the director of the Conservatoire national de musique from 1971-1975. He died in Miami in 1991 at the age of 75.