Description

LOUIS AZÉMA (AGDE, FRANCE, 24 MAY, 1876 – MONTMORENCY, FRANCE, 10 JANUARY, 1963)

 

 

 

 

He studied singing at the Paris Conservatoire under Isnardon and made his debut in 1901 at the Opéra de Lyon in G. Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots. In 1903, he performed in Nantes, and the following year at the Théâtre de la Haye in The Hague. He married mezzo-soprano Jeanne Billa-Azéma (1879–1967), and both were engaged by the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1905, where he made his debut as Don Basilio in G. Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He remained a highly respected member of the company until 1930.

At the Opéra-Comique, he took part in several important premieres, including Les Pêcheurs de Saint Jean by Ch. Marie Widor (1905), Ariane et Barbe-Bleue by P. Dukas (1907), Macbeth by E. Bloch (1910), La Jota by R. Laparra (1911), La Sorcière by C. Erlanger (1912), Marouf by H. Rabaud (1914), Le Roi Candaule by A. Bruneau (1920), and Dans l’Ombre de la Cathédrale by G. Hüe (1921).

His extensive repertoire included roles such as the Sultan in Marouf, Nilakantha in Lakmé, Arkel in Pelléas et Mélisande, Daland in Der Fliegende Holländer, Lothario in Mignon, Sulpice in La Fille du Régiment, and Louis XII in La Basoche. After retiring, he became the manager of the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse in 1941. Later, he returned to Paris and pursued painting, with several of his portraits displayed in the entrance hall of the Opéra-Comique.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1901 Lyon Opéra

1904 Hague Théâtre de la Haye

1905 Paris Opéra-Comique

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) La calunnia è venticello B 26,04 Phono, Paris 1909
2. Châlet (Adam) Arrêtons-nous ici 032179 01675v Gramophone, Paris 1910-09-06
3. Faust (Gounod) Mais ce Dieu (w. Friant) W496 034258 Gramophone, Paris 1922-02-08
4. Faust(Gounod) Sous qui faites l’endormie 22-430 430 Perfectaphone, Paris
5. Le Cor (Flegier-Vigny) 238.989 KI4827 Odéon, Paris 1930
6. Le Soir (Gounod) 238.989 KI5080 Odéon, Paris 1930
7. Les deux grenadiers (Schumann) 032174 01754v Gramophone, Paris 1910-11-29
8. Mignon (Thomas) Berceuse 429 Ultima
9. Mignon (Thomas) Berceuse 188086 Odéon, Paris 1930
10. Chanson pour Jean (Chizat) P457 s22264u Gramophone, Paris 1921-06-20
11. Robert le diable (Meyerbeer) Nonnes qui reposez (Évocation) 188036 Odéon, Paris 1930