Description

PAUL FRANZ (PARIS, FRANCE, 30 NOVEMBER, 1876 – PARIS, FRANCE, 20 APRIL, 1950)

 

 

 

 

His real name was François Gauthier. Initially a railroad employee, he later pursued singing studies at the Conservatoire in Paris and perfected his vocal technique privately under Louis Delaquerrière. In 1908, he won a competition for amateur singers, which caught the attention of the director of the Grand Opéra in Paris. His debut that same year as Lohengrin in Nantes was a resounding success, leading to his long-standing engagement with the Grand Opéra, where he remained an esteemed member until 1938.

At the Grand Opéra, Gauthier participated in several significant premieres, including:

1914: Parsifal (Richard Wagner)

1920: La Légende de Saint Christophe (Vincent d’Indy)

1921: Antar (Gabriel Dupont)

1921: Les Troyens (Hector Berlioz)

1923: Padmâvati (Albert Roussel)

In 1922, he had a notable success at the Grand Opéra as Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. That same year, he made a guest appearance at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and in 1923, he sang in the premiere of Raoul Gunsbourg’s Lysistrata there. He also made appearances in Brussels.

From 1910 to 1914, he sang with great success at Covent Garden, London, where his repertoire included roles such as Samson in Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila, Radamès in Aida, Raoul in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots, Don José in Carmen, and Julien in Charpentier’s Louise. Siegfried Wagner had intended for him to perform at the Bayreuth Festival in 1915, but these plans were thwarted by the outbreak of World War I.

In 1910, Gauthier also performed at La Scala in Milan, and in 1918, he sang at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. He made guest appearances at the Opera in Antwerp as well.

Following his retirement from the stage, he was appointed a professor at the Conservatoire National de Paris. He was also active as a composer, writing the ballet L’Orchestre en liberté, and he translated German song texts by Schubert and Schumann.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1909-1938 Paris Grand Opéra

1910 Milano La Scala

1910-1914 London Covent Garden

1918 Buenos Aires Teatro Colón

1922-1923 Monte-Carlo Opéra

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Aida (Verdi) O céleste Aida 032238 02233v Gramophone, Paris 1911-11-28

Attaque du Moulin (Bruneau) Adieux à la forêt 0428 1649 Pathé, Paris 1924

Carmen (Bizet) La fleur 032239 02234v Gramophone, Paris 1911-11-28

Cid (Massenet) O noble lame 0258, 5636 Pathé, Paris 1919 – 1920

Cid (Massenet) O souverain 0260 5636 Pathé, Paris 1919 – 1920

Damnation de Faust (Berlioz) Invocation 0258 5560 Pathé, Paris 1919 – 1920

Fille de Roland (Rabaud) Chanson d’épée 3162 Pathé, Paris 1919 – 1920

Fille de Roland (Rabaud) Chanson des épées LF23 WL2024-1 Columbia, Paris 1930 – 1932

Götterdämmerung (Wagner) Mort de Siegfried 0286, 5641 Pathé, Paris 1919 – 1920

Guillaume Tell (Rossini) Asile héréditaire 3-32807 5779h Gramophone, Paris 1908

Hérodiade (Massenet) Ne pouvant réprimer LFX56 WLX1351 Columbia, Paris 1930 – 1932

Hérodiade (Massenet) Ne pouvant réprimer X90048 N250252 Pathé, Paris 1933

Hosanna (Granier) DF255 WL2529-1 Columbia, Paris 1930 – 1932

Huguenots (Meyerbeer) Plus blanche 032268 02616v Gramophone, Paris 1912-12-07

Hymne à la France (Büsser) 3162 Pathé, Paris 1919 – 1920