Lassalle, Jean (-Louis)
Lassalle, Jean (-Louis)
Lassalle, Jean (-Louis), French baritone; b. Lyons, Dec. 14, 1847; d. Paris, Sept. 7, 1909. After training in industrial design and painting, he entered the Paris Cons, to study voice. He also studied privately with Novelli, making his debut as St. Bris in Les Huguenots in Liège (1868). He then he sang in Lille, Toulouse, The Hague, and Brussels. He made his first appearance at the Paris Opéra in the title role of Rossini’s Guillaume Tell (June 7, 1872), remaining there for more than 20 years, with extended leaves of absence, during which he toured throughout Europe, Russia, and the U.S. (debut, Metropolitan Opera, N.Y., Jan. 15, 1892, as Nelusko in L’Africaine). He was again on the Metropolitan Opera roster in 1893-94 and 1896-97. He returned to Paris in 1901 and settled there as a singing teacher, and in 1903 became a prof. at the Paris Cons. His repertoire comprised about 60 operas, ranging from Donizetti to Wagner.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire