Description

LEON CAMPAGNOLA (MARSEILLE, FRANCE, 8 FEBRUARY, 1875 – MARSEILLE, FRANCE, 10 JANUARY, 1955)

 

 

 

 

He studied at the Marseille Conservatory, initially as a baritone, and later retrained as a tenor in Paris under the pedagogue Manoury. He made his debut in 1903 in Versailles as Vincent in Gounod’s Mireille. During the 1904-05 season, he appeared in Belgium, performing in Mons, Ghent, and Antwerp (notably as Jean in Massenet’s Hérodiade). In 1906, he sang at the Grand Théâtre of Geneva as Danielo in Xavier Leroux’s La reine Fiammette. From 1908 onward, he performed at various French opera houses, including Toulouse, Tours, Nîmes, and Toulon. In 1910, he made his debut at the Grand Opéra in Paris as Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.

At the Grand Opéra, he also appeared in Rigoletto, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and I gioielli della Madonna by E. Wolf-Ferrari (in its 1913 French premiere), as well as Armel in E. Chabrier’s Gwendoline. While performing at the Grand Opéra, he continued to make guest appearances at major theaters in the French provinces and abroad, although he likely never performed at the Opéra-Comique. In 1913, he made guest appearances in Chicago and Boston, and in Washington, he performed Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca opposite Mary Garden as Tosca.

After the outbreak of World War I, he resumed his career at various French opera houses, including Marseille, Bordeaux, Lyon, and Toulouse, as well as at the Grand Opéra. In 1916, he appeared in concert at La Scala in Milan. Following the war, he continued performing in France and, toward the end of his career, became a vocal pedagogue and painter.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1913 Chicago Civic Opera House Boheme (Rodolfo)

1913 Chicago Civic Opera House Tosca (Cavaradossi)

1913 Philadelphia Teatro Metropolitan Boheme (Rodolfo)

1913 Baltimora Opera Tosca (Cavaradossi)

1913 Washington Opera Tosca (Cavaradossi)

1918 ‘S-Gravenhage Koninklijke Schouwburg Boheme (Rodolfo)

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Africaine (Meyerbeer) O paradis 4-32277 16916?u Gramophone, Paris 1911-10-21
2. Aida (Verdi) O celeste Aida 032253 02486v Gramophone, Paris 1912-06-28
3. Attaque du Moulin (Bruneau) Adieu, foret profonde 032291 674aj Gramophone, Paris 1913-09-16
4. Ave Maria (Gounod) 032307 02878v Gramophone, Paris 1914-01-07
5. Boheme (Leoncavallo) Pour logis, je n’ai qu’une chambre 4-32297 17006u Gramophone, Paris 1911-12-11
6. Boheme (Leoncavallo) Tete adoree 4-32304 17278u Gramophone, Paris 1912-06-21
7. Boheme (Puccini) Ah, Mimi s’en est allee (w. Vigneau) 34295 U9 Gramophone, Paris 1911-11-17
8. Boheme (Puccini) Que cette main est froide 032198 01990v Gramophone, Paris 1911-07-12
9. Carmen (Bizet) La fleur 032196, 01955v Gramophone, Paris 1911-06-16
10. 11. Carmen (Bizet) Mais moi, Carmen, je t’aime encore…C’est toi! (w. Brohly) 034136, 034132, 02389?v, 02390v Gramophone, Paris 1912-05-06
11. Catari, catari (Core ‘ngrato) (Cardillo) 032419 CS527-4 Gramophone, Paris 1923-02-17
12. 14. Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) C’est toi, Santuzza… O mon Torrido (w. Brohly) 034149 02511v, 034142 02489v Gramophone, Paris 1912-09-06, 1912-07-03
13. Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) O Lola 4-32266 16869½u Gramophone, Paris 1911-10-03, 1912-09-06
14. Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) Vive le vin (w. chorus) 4-32299 16927u Gramophone, Paris 1911-10-30
15. Chanson de l’adieu (Tosti) 3172 Pathé, Paris 1919/1920
16. Dans le printemps de mes annees (Garat) 4-32564 BS840-4 Gramophone, Paris 1923-05-22
17. Don Pasquale (Donizetti) Nuit parfumee (Serenade) 4-32309 17303u Gramophone, Paris 1912-09-03
18. Elisir d’amore (Donizetti) Une larme secrete 032236 02244?v Gramophone, Paris 1911-12-05
19. Faust (Gounod) A moi les plaisirs (w. Cerdan) 034117 02175?v Gramophone, Paris 1911-11-04