Description

ÉTIENNE GIBERT (JONQUIERES, NEAR ORANGE, 3 DECEMBER, 1859 – PARIS, FRANCE 1929)

 

 

 

 

He was a pupil of Crosti and Obin at the Paris Conservatory and probably made his debut in 1887 at the Rouen Opera House as Fernando in La Favorita by G. Donizetti. After a few appearances in the French provinces, he made his debut at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1889, where he performed the role of Chevalier Roland in J. Massenet’s Esclarmonde on May 15, 1889. He remained at the Opéra-Comique until 1892 before moving to the Grand Opéra in 1893. At the Grand Opéra, he mostly sang heavy tenor roles, starting with Vasco in G. Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine. He continued his career at the Grand Opéra for five years, also performing as Lohengrin and Tannhäuser.

In 1895, he performed at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in Mefistofele by A. Boito and Armida by Gluck. He later guest-starred in Bordeaux, Nice, Lyons, and Toulouse. During the 1901-02 season, he was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he performed in Roméo et Juliette and Faust.

In Paris, he created two significant roles: Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana at the Opéra-Comique in 1892, and Tristan in Tristan und Isolde at the Théâtre Nouveau in 1899. In 1909, he appeared at the Théâtre Trianon-Lyrique in the title role of A. Grétry’s Richard Coeur-de-Lion.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1887 Rouen Opera House

1889-1892 Paris Opéra-Comique

1893 Paris Grand Opéra

1895 Monte Carlo Opera House

 

 

LEONE (LÉON) CAZAURAN (BAYONNE, 1879 – ?)

 

 

 

 

In 1905 he appeared at the Teatro Costanzi in  Rome in ”I racconti di Hoffmann” of Offenbach with Maria Farneti (Antonia/Giulietta), Amelia Karola (Olimpia), Luisa Garibaldi (Nicklausse/madre) and Angelo Scandiani (Coppelio/dr.Miracolo/Dappertutto). Next year  he sang in Teatro Regio of Parma as Werther with Elisa Petri (Carlotta), Giuseppe Giardini (Alberto) and Silvio Becucci (Johann). In 1907 was hired for the Manhattan Opera by Hammerstein in 1907 for Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Thaïs, but was replaced in both by Charles Dalmorès, who supposedly learned the tenor roles in two weeks. It appears that Mr. Cazauran visited the Bronx Zoo Monkey House and got into the same trouble there as had Caruso a short time earlier (accused of pinching a woman’s derrière). He was, as was Caruso, acquitted, but Hammerstein decided to get rid of him anyway.

Nov. 17, 1907 New York by direct wire to The Times

Something curious seems to be going on with opera tenors in the monkey house at New York’s Central Park; perhaps there’s an atmosphere that lends itself to “annoying” people, for the problem of mashers at the monkey house has even inspired a 1907 movie by Biograph.

Luckily, Detective J.J. Cain is on the lookout for malefactors who make lewd advances, having arrested Enrico Caruso the year before.

Cain’s latest arrests are Leon Cazauran, “a slender young man with pale face and large brown eyes” brought to New York to sing in “Thais” at Oscar Hammerstein’s Manhattan Operahouse, and his companion, Claude Modjeska, “a copper-colored young man,” The Times says.

“The charge against both was that of attempting to corrupt the morals of little boys,” The Times says. Cain said he was suspicious of the men because they had visited the monkey house several times before “in the company of small boys.”

Despite the language handicap (Cazauran didn’t speak English and while Modjeska only knew a bit of English, he was able to act as a translator) the men protested their innocence. Modjeska was fined $10 and the men vanished.

One of his pupils was french tenor Charles Burles who made his opera debut in 1958 as Almaviva in ”Il Barbiere di Siviglia”.

 

 

MAURICE SENS (1880 ? – ?)

 

 

 

 

He made his debut at the Opéra-Comique in 1910, and in the same year, he created the leading tenor role in Samuel-Rousseau’s Léone. More familiar repertoire dominated subsequent seasons, during which he sang roles such as Don José, Werther, Rodolfo, Des Grieux, Turiddu, and Julien in Charpentier’s Louise. In 1923, Sens married his pupil, the significantly younger soprano Gina Cigna (1900–1999). His recordings are extremely rare.

 

Chronology of appearance

 

1910 Paris Opéra-Comique

 

HENRI JÉRÔME (1860 – ?)

 

 

 

 

Approximately five years after beginning his career, he sang in opera houses as a comprimario, later transitioning to first roles. On October 3, 1895, he appeared in the Opéra-Comique premiere of Massenet’s La Navarraise alongside the famous Emma Calvé.

Chronology of some appearances

1890 Paris Theatre de l’Opera (Palais Garnier) “Zaire” with Emma Eames (Zaire), Léonce Escalais (Lusignan), Dumenil (captive), Jean-Francois Delmas (Orosmane) and Ragneau (Hassan).

1895 Paris Opéra-Comique ‘’La Navarraise’’ with Emma Calve.

  

 

CHARLES MILHAU

 

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1906 Lieges Theatre Royal Guglielmo Tell (Arnoldo)

1908 Bordeaux Grand Théâtre Robert le diable (Robert)

1908 Toulouse Capitole Guglielmo Tell (Arnoldo)

1910 Nantes Graslin Guglielmo Tell (Arnoldo)

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Etienne Gibert Dimitri (Joncieres): Invocation 17587 Edison 2-min cylinders, Paris 1905/1906
2. Etienne Gibert Roi d’Ys (Lalo): Aubade Aérophone 1094 Aérophone, Paris 1910??
3. Etienne Gibert Hérodiade (Massenet): Air de Jean Aérophone 1095 Aerophone, Paris 1910??
4. Etienne Gibert Sigurd (Reyer): Esprits gardiens 664 Duval
5. Leone (Léon) Cazauran Werther (Massenet): Ah! Non mi ridestar 52163 2348L G&T, Milano 1904-12
6. Leone (Léon) Cazauran Mignon (Thomas): Ah! non credevi tu 52164 2349L G&T, Milano 1904-12
7. Maurice Sens Carmen (Bizet): La fleur 032131 01306v Gramophone, Paris 1910-01-18
8. Maurice Sens Faust (Gounod): Salut demeure 032137 01358v Gramophone, Paris 1910-03-14
9. Maurice Sens Lakmé (Delibes): Ah! Viens, dans la forêt profonde X97654 XP5079 Odeon, Paris 1910/1911
10. Maurice Sens Trovatore (Verdi): Stretta X97772 XP5253 Odeon, Paris 1910/1911
11. Maurice Sens Serenade (Au clair de la lune) (Leoncavallo) Gramophone 032262 02515v Gramophone, Paris 1912-09-09
12. Maurice Sens Boheme (Puccini): Che gelida manina Unpubl. Edison 44647 Paris 1913
13. Henri JérômeSigurd (Reyer): Esprits gardiens 39285 Xph 717 Fonotipia, Paris 1904/1905
14. Henri Jérôme L’Attaque au Moulin (Bruneau): Adieu a la foret 39282 Xph 721 Fonotipia, Paris 1904/1905
15. Henri Jérôme Lakme (Delibes): Fantaisie aux divins mensonges 39283 Xph 722 Fonotipia, Paris 1904/1905
16. Henri Jérôme Rigoletto (Verdi): Questa o quella 39280 Xph 713 Fonotipia, Paris 1904/1905
17. Henri Jérôme Herodiade (Massenet): Grand Air 39284 Xph 714 Fonotipia, Paris 1904/1905
18. Charles Milhau La Juive (Halevy): Rachel quand du seigneur Favorite-Eden, Paris 1905?
19. Charles Milhau L’Africaine (Meyerbeer): Pays merveilleux Favorite-Eden, Paris 1905?
20. Charles Milhau La Juive (Halevy): Dieu que ma voix Favorite-Eden, Paris 1905?