Description

DAVID ETIENNE JOSEPH DEVRIÈS (BAGNERES-DE-LUCHON, FRANCE, 14 FEBRUARY, 1882 – NEUILLY-SUR-SEINE, FRANCE, 17 JULY, 1936)

 

 

 

 

He made his debut in 1904 at the Théâtre Montparnasse as Gérald in Lakmé, but the main part of his career was devoted to the Opéra-Comique, where he sang roles such as Almaviva, Don José, Armand in Massenet’s Thérèse, Alfredo, Jean in Massenet’s Sapho, Clément in Messager’s La Basoche, Vincent in Mireille, Wilhelm in Mignon, Des Grieux, Werther, Julien, Pinkerton, Cavaradossi, and many others. In 1909, he took part in the revival of Boieldieu’s La Dame Blanche and remained a paradigmatic Georges Brown. That same year, he went to New York, invited by Oscar Hammerstein, to sing at the Manhattan Theatre, where he performed various roles, including Ange Pitou in Lecocq’s La Fille de Madame Angot and Sylvain in Maillart’s Les Dragons de Villars.

More importantly, during this time, he sang the role of Pelléas in Debussy’s masterwork for the first time in his career. Still in America, alongside Mary Garden, he performed as Araquil in La Navarraise and Alain in Grisélidis. Interestingly, Garden had taken over the title role in Massenet’s Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame, originally composed for a tenor. However, when she was traveling, Devries also sang this role, giving local audiences the opportunity to hear the part in both soprano and tenor versions.

Later, he sang Pelléas at Covent Garden and Nicias (from Thaïs) in Monte Carlo. In Nice, he created the role of Paco in the world premiere of Falla’s La Vida Breve. He also performed as a soloist in recitals and concerts, singing in St. Matthew Passion as well as in Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Lohengrin (Wagner) Adieux de Lohengrin 0081 Pathé cylinders & discs, Paris 1904/1905

Manon (Massenet) Instant charmant… En fermant les yeux 188.505 Ki1079 Odeon, Paris 1927-0102

Manon (Massenet) Le rêve 0080 Pathé cylinders & discs, Paris 1904/1905

Mélodies Persanes (Saint-Saëns) Au Cimetière 188.584 Ki1651 Odeon, Paris 1928-04-25

Mélodies Persanes (Saint-Saëns) Tournoiement 188.584 Ki1650-1 Odeon, Paris 1928-04-25

Mignon (Thomas) Adieu, Mignon, courage 4593, Pathé, Paris 1907

Mignon (Thomas) Elle ne croyait pas 4596 Pathé, Paris 1907

Paganini (Lehár) J’ai toujours cru qu’un baiser 123.729 XXP7154 Odeon, Paris 1930-10-27

Pêcheurs de perles (Bizet) Je crois entendre encore 123.729 XXP7155 Odeon, Paris 1930-10-27

Portrait de Mireille (Doria) 4669 Pathé, Paris 1907

Princesse Jaune (Saint-Saëns) Air du rêve 0053 Pathé cylinders & discs, Paris 1904/1905

Requiem (Fauré) Pie Jesu 188.792 Ki3888 Odeon, Paris 1930-11-25

Rigoletto (Verdi) Comme la plume au vent 188.751  Ki 3611-2 Odeon, Paris 1930-09-16

Roi d’Ys (Lalo) Aubade 0070 Pathé cylinders & discs, Paris 1904/1905

Roi d’Ys (Lalo) Vainement, ma bien aimée (Aubade) 188-505 Ki1081 Odeon, Paris 1927-0102