Louis Gaulard Dumesny
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Louis Gaulard Dumesny was a French operatic tenor.
Little is known about Dumesny's early life, legend has it that he was working as a cook when Jean-Baptiste Lully heard him singing and was impressed by his natural and well focused voice, his vocal range was then known as haute-contre.
He made his stage debut in 1677, singing a small part in Isis, and then went on creating all roles whithin his range in operas by Lully; Atys, Thésée, Persée, Amadis, Renaud, Acis, Achille. After Lully's death he created several other roles in operas by different composers, notably; Énée et Lavinie by Pascal Collasse, Médée by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, L'Europe galante by André Campra, Issé and Amadis de Grèce by André Cardinal Destouches.
An excellent actor with a powerful voice, he seemed to have learned all his roles by memory as he did not know how to read music. Reputed as a libertine, and for his dispute with La Maupin.
[edit] Sources
- Le guide de l'opéra, les indispensables de la musique, R.Mancini & J.J.Rouvereux, (Fayard, 1986), ISBN 2-213-01563-6
