Michel Sénéchal

Michel Sénéchal

Nascimento : 1927-02-11, Paris, France

Morte : 2018-04-01

História

Michel Sénéchal (11 February 1927 – 1 April 2018) was a French tenor, particularly associated with French and Italian character roles in a repertory ranging from Baroque to contemporary works. Michel Sénéchal was born in Paris and sang as a child in a church choir in Taverny. He made his vocal studies at the Paris Conservatory, and made his debut at La Monnaie in Brussels in 1950, where he would remain until 1952. Upon his return in France he made his debut in Paris, at the Paris Opéra and the Opéra-Comique, where he sang the lead tenor roles in opera such as La dame blanche, Les Indes galantes, Il matrimonio segreto, The Barber of Seville, Le comte Ory, etc. He sang at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in Rameau's Platée for his debut there in 1956. He also appeared at the Vienna State Opera, the festivals of Salzburg and Glyndebourne, in Mozart roles such as Ottavio and Tamino. Sénéchal also appeared regularly in operettas, especially by Offenbach, such as Orphée aux enfers, La Vie parisienne, La Périchole, where his comic talent was shown to fine effect. As the years went by Sénéchal started concentrating on character roles such as Basilio in Nozze di Figaro, Goro in Madama Butterfly, the Holy Fool in Boris Godunov, Monsieur Triquet in Eugene Onegin, Guillot de Morfontaine in Manon, and the four servants in Les contes d'Hoffmann, which were his debut roles at the Metropolitan Opera on 8 March 1982. Sénéchal took part in the creation of contemporary works such as the roles of Fabien in Marcel Landowski's Montségur and Pope Leo X in Konrad Boehmer's Doctor Faustus. He remained active on stage until late in life, appearing in performance into the early years of the 21st century. He began teaching at "L'École d'art lyrique" of the Paris Opéra in 1979, and was eventually named director of the school. He can be heard in several recordings, notably in La dame blanche, Mireille, and Thais, made in his prime, in the early 1960s. Michel Sénéchal died in Eaubonne on 1 April 2018, aged 91. Source: Article "Michel Sénéchal" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Perfil

Michel Sénéchal

Filmes

Rusalka
The Gamekeeper
Renee Fleming stars in Dvorak's three-act opera based on two fairy-tales which tells the story of a water-nymph called Rusalka (Fleming), who wishes she was human, after falling in love with a mortal.
Manon
Guillot de Morfontaine
Live 2001 recording at the Bastille opera in Paris in a production for l'Opéra de Paris by Gilbert Deflo. High praise was given to the historical costumes by William Orlando, the minimal décor, the sophisticated lighting as well as the musical excellence of the performers. It was also due to the charisma of Renée Fleming; she confessed in an interview, "I think Manon is my favorite role. I love French music, it is so elegant and delicate stylistically. It has both dramatic and lyrical elements." Marcelo Alvarez was thought brilliant in the role of the Chevalier des Grieux, and among the other artists were Jean-Luc Chaignaud as Lescaut, Alain Vernhes as the Comte des Grieux and Michel Sénéchal as Guillot de Morfontaine. The choir and orchestra of l'Opéra de Paris were conducted by Jesús López-Cobos.