Jean-Emil Vanni-Marcoux

Jean-Emil Vanni-Marcoux (June 12, 1877, Turin, Italy - October 22, 1962, Paris, France) was a French bass-baritone. 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.

Life and Career

Giovanni (Jean-Émile Diogène) Marcoux was born to a French father and an Italian mother. (Vanni is a nickname for Giovanni.) 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 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 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 Il barbiere di Siviglia, in 1905, and at La Monnaie in Brussels, as Bertram in Robert le diable, in 1906.

Vanni-Marcoux made his Paris Opera debut in 1908 as Méphisto in Faust (opera), and at La Scala in 1910, as the old hebrew in 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 (opera), and Arthur Honneger's and Jacques Ibert's L'Aiglon.

Word of his many successes crossed the Atlantic, and he was invited to the Boston Opera, where he made his debut in 1912 as Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande. This was followed by his debut at theLyric Opera of Chicago in 1913, as the four villains in Les contes d'Hoffmann, which is considered one of his greatest histrionic achievements. His success in America was partly due to soprano Mary Garden, who had popularized French opera. Vanni-Marcoux also 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.

Vanni-Marcoux's career may be possibly 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.

Sources

• Dictionaire des interprètes, Robert Laffont ISBN 2-221-06660-X
• Guide de l'opéra, les indispensables de la musique, Fayard ISBN 2-221-01563-6

Category: 1877 births Category: 1962 deaths Category: french opera singers