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. Faust (Gounod) Divine purete (w. Cesar & Payan) 034153 02506v Gramophone, Paris 1912-09-05
2. Faust (Gounod) Mais ce Dieu (w. Cerdan) 034116 02176?v Gramophone, Paris 1911-11-04
3. Faust (Gounod) Salut demeure 032240 02220v Gramophone, Paris 1911-11-21
4. Favorite (Donizetti) Ange si pur 45119-A Victor, USA 1911-07-13
5. Favorite (Donizetti) Un ange, une femme inconnue 45119-B Victor, USA 1911-07-13
6. Gioconda (Ponchielli) Ciel et mer 032233 02202v Gramophone, Paris 1911-11-14.mp3
7. Gioielli della Madonna (Wolf-Ferrari) Non, la Madonne sait mon innocense (Priere) 4-32356 18603u Gramophone, Paris 1914-01-03
8. Herodiade (Massenet) Ne pouvant reprimer (Air de Jean) 032215 02157v Gramophone, Paris 1911-10-26
9. Ici-bas (Tosti) 4-32528 BS564-4 Gramophone, Paris 1922-12-15
10. Joseph (Mehul) Champs paternels 032442 CL12-1 Gramophone, Paris 1924-09-24
11. La petite amie (Delmas) 032373, 03389v Gramophone, Paris 1920-10-18
12. Lakme (Delibes) Fantaisie aux divines mensonges 032254 02487?v Gramophone, Paris 1912-07-02
13. Le beau reve (Flegier) 032235 02227v Gramophone, Paris 1911-11-23
14. Le crucifix (Faure) (w. Payan) 034201 02877v Gramophone, Paris 1914-01-07
15. Le pecheur chante (Tosti) 4-32529 BS568-3 Gramophone, Paris 1922-12-15
16. L’ideal (Tosti) 4-32305 17281?u Gramophone, Paris 1912-06-26
17. Loin de moi, ta levre qui ment (Massenet) 4-32683 BL139-1 Gramophone, Paris 1924-11-27
18. Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) Quand l’herbe des champs 4-32355 18607u Gramophone, Paris 1914-01-03
19. Mai (Hahn) 4-32684 BS501 Gramophone, Paris 1923-02-17
20. Manon (Massenet) Adieu, notre petite table (w. Cesar) 34291 16930u Gramophone, Paris 1911-11-03