José Luccioni
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
José Luccioni (October 14, 1903, Bastia - October 5, 1978, Marseille) was a French operatic tenor of Corsican origin, one of the leading French dramatic tenors of the 1930s and 1940s.
Initially a racing car driver and mechanic at the Citroën car company, his voice was discovered while he was serving in the military. He studied voice in Paris with Léon David and Léon Escalais and made his debut in Rouen as Cavaradossi in Tosca in 1931. During the 1932-33 season he made his debut at both the Palais Garnier and the Opéra-Comique, where he won considerable acclaim as Don José in Carmen, a role he sang an estimated 500 times during his career.
He sang widely in Europe, spending much of 1935-37 in Italy, Florence, Turin, Verona, but mostly at the Rome Opera. He also appeared at the Royal Opera House in London, the Monte Carlo Opera, the Liceo in Barcelona, etc. He made his debut at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires in 1936, and sang at the Lyric Opera of Chicago during the 1937-38 season.
Luccioni possessed a voice a great beauty and considerable power, he was also a fine singing-actor, notoble roles included Roland, Samson, Vasco, Jean, Turiddu, Canio, Chenier, Radames, Otello, etc. He also appeared in a few motion pictures such as Colomba (1947) and Le bout de la route (1948). After retirement, he served as Director of the Opéra de Nice.
His son, Jacques Luccioni, was also an opera singer, first as a tenor and later as a baritone. In 1962, he ended his singing career and worked as a stage director.
