Description

FRANÇOIS-XAVIER MERCIER (QUÉBEC, CANADA, 13 AUGUST, 1867 – QUÉBEC, CANADA, 22 DECEMBER, 1932)

 

 

 

 

He sang in Quebec City from an early age, especially at the Church of the Congregation of Notre-Dame (now Jacques-Cartier). His solo performances at the Académie commerciale attracted the attention of the school’s director, who granted him a scholarship and, in 1891, secured him a position as a bookkeeping teacher at Collège Mont-St-Louis in Montreal. Between 1892 and 1894, he lived in Toronto, where he studied elocution with J.H. Cameron and solfège with Adèle Lemaître.

In Boston, he performed the role of the Duke in Rigoletto at Castle Square but soon returned to Toronto to open a voice studio. With the support of a subscription and concert proceeds at Massey Hall, he went to Paris to study voice for five years under Jacques Bouhy and studied solfège and stagecraft with T. Valdejo.

In January 1899, Mercier was selected from among 18 tenors to sing at the Opéra-Comique, where he made his debut in Méhul’s Joseph. Le Gaulois praised his voice, stating, “Mercier’s tone was superb. A powerful voice, perfect diction, expressive features; he is actor and singer rolled into one.” He later performed in Carmen, Mireille, and Manon.

In 1901, Mercier sang at Covent Garden in London, performing in Faust, Les Huguenots, Carmen, Roméo et Juliette, and Le Roi d’Ys alongside notable artists such as Calvé, Journet, Melba, Plançon, Scotti, and Tamagno. He returned to Paris to prepare the role of Arnold in William Tell, which he performed in Bordeaux and Rouen, receiving seven curtain calls for his aria “Asile héréditaire.”

After performing in Faust, L’Africaine, Les Huguenots, Sigurd, and La Juive on tour in France, he traveled to Italy and Switzerland. He reprised Les Huguenots in The Hague and William Tell in Spa with baritone Jean-Baptiste Noté.

In December 1906, while preparing for a season at the Lyon Opera, Mercier returned to Quebec City after the death of his mother. In 1907, he performed in Toronto and Quebec City before returning to Paris in November. He spent the 1908-1909 season in Constantine, Algeria, where he achieved great success in Les Huguenots, followed by triumphs in Werther, Carmen, La Navarraise, I Pagliacci, Marie-Magdeleine, Sigurd, and Hérodiade. In Algiers and Oran, he sang in William Tell and La Juive.

He next performed in 22 opera and oratorio concerts at Queen’s Hall, London, under the baton of Sir Henry Wood. After touring France and Algeria again, he returned to Quebec City in August 1913 with his wife, singer Isabelle de Besson (Mlle Jeynevald), whom he met in Constantine and married in Lyon in 1909.

In 1914, Mercier founded the Institut d’Art Vocal, where he taught until his death. In 1931, he was named honorary president of the newly founded Association des chanteurs de Québec. He also contributed a series of articles titled “Classement et pose de la voix,” published in La Musique in 1919, and in 1923, he published Souvenirs de ma carrière artistique, reprinted as Gerbe de souvenirs in his study Technique de musique vocale (Quebec City, 1928). He composed numerous songs, including Ce que je chante, Op. 65 (1918), and France et Canada, Op. 106 (1929). Several of his works are preserved at the ANQ in Quebec.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1899 Paris Opéra-Comique

1901 London Covent Garden

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Les Huguenots (Meyerbeer): L’entrée de Raoul E2376 45649 Colombia, New York 1915
2. Chanson de l’adieu (Tosti) E2377 45659 Colombia, New York 1915
3. France E2380 45652 Colombia, New York 1915
4. La Huronne E2377 Colombia, New York 1915
5. Marie Magdeleine (Massenet): Heureux ceux qui vivront (with Jeynevald-Mercier) E2375 Colombia, New York 1915
6. Mireille (Gounod): La foi de son flambeau divin (with Jeynevald-Mercier) E2375 Colombia, New York 1915
7. Musette du XVIIe siècle E2378 45658 Colombia, New York 1915
8. Ô Canada, mon pays, mes amours! E2378 Colombia, New York 1915
9. Tosca (Puccini): Oh! de beautés égales Colombia, New York 1915
10. Zingarella E2380 45656 Colombia, New York 1915