Vanni Marcoux
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Jean-Émile Diogène Marcoux (June 12, 1877, Turin, Italy – October 22, 1962, Paris, France) was a French bass-baritone, who was known professionally as Vanni Marcoux (sometimes hyphenated as Vanni-Marcoux). He was particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories. His huge repertoire included an estimated 240 roles. He was as admired for his vocal gifts as he was for his acting talents.
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[edit] Life and career
Jean-Émile Diogène Marcoux was born to a French father and an Italian mother in Turin, Italy. His mother gave him the nickname "Vanni", short for Giovanni, the Italian equivalent of Jean. After completing law studies, he decided to devote himself to music. He studied with Collini at the music conservatory in his hometown. He made his debut in 1894, at the age of 17, as Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto, in Turin. After further studies in Paris with Frédéric Boyer, he made his first stage appearance in France, at Bayonne as Frère Laurent in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, in 1899. Thereafter he toured a number of provincial theatres, which led to his debut at the Royal Opera House in London, as Basilio in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, in 1905, and at La Monnaie in Brussels, as Bertram in Meyerbeer's Robert le diable, in 1906.
Vanni Marcoux made his Paris Opera debut in 1908 as Méphisto in Gounod's Faust, and at La Scala in 1910, as the old Hebrew in [[Saint-Saëns]' Samson et Dalila. The same year, 1910, he sang for the first time Massenet's Don Quichotte at the "Gaieté Lyrique"" in Paris, a part that would soon become his signature role. For nearly 40 years, Vanni Marcoux was a familiar and much admired figure in Parisian musical life, mainly at the Opéra and the Opéra-Comique, where he created a number of roles in comtemporary operas such as Gunsbourg's Lysistrata, d'Ollone's L'Arlequin, Henry Février's Monna Vanna and La femme nue, Massenet's Panurge, and Arthur Honneger's and Jacques Ibert's L'Aiglon.
Word of his many successes crossed the Atlantic, and he was invited to Boston, where he made his debut in 1912 as Golaud in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande. This was followed by his debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1913, as the four villains in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann, which is considered one of his greatest histrionic achievements. His success in America was partly due to the soprano Mary Garden, who had popularized French opera.
In October 1914, in the early stages of World War I, it was erroneously reported that he had been killed on active service as a member of the French Army.[1]
Vanni Marcoux appeared at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires in 1919. Other notable career roles included Philippe II in Don Carlo, Iago in Otello, Gianni Schicchi.
Vanni Marcoux began teaching at the Paris Conservatory in 1938. He retired from the stage in 1948 and became director of the Grand Théâtre of Bordeaux. He held the post from 1948 to 1951. He died in 1962.
Vanni Marcoux's career may possibly be one of the most impressive of the 20th Century for its longevity and huge repertoire. He possessed a clear, although not especially large voice, sustained by impeccable technique, diction, and musicianship, and outstanding dramatic intelligence.
[edit] Notes
[edit] Sources
- D. Hamilton (ed.),The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to the World of Opera (Simon and Schuster, New York 1987). ISBN 0-671-16732-X
- Roland Mancini and Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, (orig. H. Rosenthal and J. Warrack, French edition), Guide de l’opéra, Les indispensables de la musique (Fayard, 1995). ISBN 2-213-01563-6
