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Marcel JournetFrench opera singer, bass
Date of Birth: 25.07.1867
Country:  France |
Content:
Biography of Marcel Journet
Marcel Journet was a French opera singer, bass, who achieved an international career in England, Italy, and France, and frequently performed in the United States, particularly in the opera houses of New York City and Chicago. Journet had a vast repertoire and possessed a beautiful, flexible, vibrant, and extremely powerful voice throughout his range, effortlessly performing both baritone roles and displaying brilliant technique. He started with dramatic and heroic roles but never missed an opportunity to perform in comedic roles. Additionally, Journet excelled in public appearances and sang in several languages - French, Italian, German, English, Spanish, Russian, and even Latin. Contemporaries agreed that he may have been inferior to Feodor Chaliapin in lyrical roles, but he nonetheless had a significant influence on the development of opera. His career spanned four decades.
Early Life
Marcel Journet was born on July 25, 1867, in the city of Grasse, a perfumery gem in the Alpes-Maritimes department, to Jules Journet, who worked for a trading firm, and Virginie Delphin. According to his birth certificate, he was named Hipolyte-Jules. The desire to become a singer struck young Journet during a performance of the operetta "Les Mousquetaires au couvent." In 1889, he enrolled at the Paris Conservatory, where he studied under Louis Obin, a former bass of the Paris Opera who performed there from 1844 to 1871. In 1891, Journet made his debut at the opera house in Béziers, performing the bass role of Balthazar in Gaetano Donizetti's opera "La Favorite." Until 1893, the young singer performed in provincial theaters, including Montpellier, and it seems that during this period, he changed his name to Marcel. The following year, Marcel received an offer from La Monnaie, the Royal Opera House in Brussels. He performed there in 1894-1895, 1899-1900, and finally in 1929-1930. Becoming a member of the company, Journet added many new roles to his repertoire and participated in world premieres such as Jules Massenet's "La Navarraise" in 1894, Émile Mathieu's "L'Enfance de Roland," and Xavier Leroux's "Évangéline" in 1895.
International Success
During breaks from La Monnaie, Journet debuted at Covent Garden in a production of Wagner's "Tannhäuser." Despite competition from the famous French bass Pol Plançon, who had a more convincing low register, Journet soon performed all bass roles in Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots," Verdi's "Aida," "Rigoletto," and "Otello," Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette" and "Philémon et Baucis," Mozart's "Don Giovanni," Thomas' "Hamlet," Saint-Saëns' "Henry VIII," Puccini's "La Bohème," and others, changing roles from performance to performance, demonstrating his versatility. La Monnaie, Covent Garden, and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in 1899 were significant milestones for the young bass, but he wanted more, and he soon signed a contract with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where Journet arrived after completing the season in Brussels. He made his American stage debut on November 9, 1900, in "La Bohème" in Los Angeles and on December 22, he first appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, performing the role of Ramfis in "Aida." From 1900 to 1907, Journet sang numerous familiar and new roles on the stage of the New York theater and was warmly received by American opera lovers. His performance as the cynical and mocking Mephistopheles in Gounod's "Faust" became unforgettable and became his signature role, which Journet successfully performed throughout his career and recorded with remarkable skill, especially considering his age by that time in 1930.
Later Career and Legacy
In 1908, Journet returned to Europe and in October, he sang King Heinrich der Vogler in "Lohengrin" at the Paris Opera. In the following years, Journet was very busy at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, toured extensively worldwide, and by the end of World War I, he became a star at Milan's La Scala, where he worked closely with conductor Arturo Toscanini from 1915 to 1925. The years passed, almost without affecting the quality of his voice. After a demanding season at the Paris Opera in 1932-1933, Marcel Journet, who suffered from chronic kidney failure, went to Vittel in the Vosges department to rest, where he suddenly died from a uremic attack on September 6, 1933, at the age of 66. He was married twice, divorced his first wife with whom he had a son who later became a film actor, and remarried at the age of 57.
