Description

Opera stars of today are likely to perform for scores of opera companies around the globe. Few singers are associated with a particular company and few companies have particularly distinguishing features. This was not the case at the turn of the last century and no company was more steeped in its own traditions than the Opéra-Comique. Dating back to 1715 and until its dissolution in the early 1970s, the opéra-comique tradition (French opera with spoken dialogue) was one of the most distinctive and best- maintained forms of French artistic expression. The Opéra-Comique roster of artists was extensive and the list of extraordinary performances, countless. Three outstanding tenors of the Opéra-Comique who flourished during the 1920s were: Louis Cazette, Charles Friant and Jean Marny. Cazette was a singer with a supple voice who used it with charm, elegance and skill. His early death was one of the tragedies in the chronicles of the French operatic theater and his short life produced only eleven rare recorded sides. Friant was known for his articulation, musical sensibility and exquisite phrasing. His dramatic sense of reality made the characters he portrayed unforgettable. Marny was a cross between a lyric and dramatic tenor. He sings the part of Le chevalier des Grieux on Marston s Manon, 52003 and created one of the greatest Werthers of his time. Three Tenors of the Opéra-Comique preserves true exemplars of the now almost lost French style of singing.