Journet, Marcel

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Journet, Marcel

Journet, Marcel, distinguished French bass; b. Grasse, Alpes Maritimes, July 25, 1867; d. Vittel, Sept. 5, 1933. He studied at the Paris Cons, with Obin and Seghettini. He made his operatic debut in La Favorite in Montpellier (1891), then sang at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels (1894–1900). On July 10, 1897, he made his debut at London’s Covent Garden as the Duke of Mendoza in d’Erlanger’s Inez Mendo. He appeared there regularly until 1907, and returned in 1927-28. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. on Dec. 22, 1900, as Ramfis, and remained on its roster until 1908. He then was a member of the Paris Opéra (1908–32), and also sang at the Chicago Grand Opera (1915-17; 1918-19) andat Milan’s La Scala (1917; 1922-27), where he created the role of Simon Mago in Boito’s Nerone (May 1, 1924). Among his finest roles were Hans Sachs, Gurnemanz, Wotan, Méphistophélès, Golaud, and Scarpia.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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