Thill, Georges

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Thill, Georges

Thill, Georges, distinguished French tenor; b. Paris, Dec. 14, 1897; d. Draguignan, Oct. 17, 1984. He studied at the Paris Cons, and with Fernando De Lucia in Naples. Returning to Paris, he sang at the Opéra-Comique; made his first appearance at the Opéra as Nicias in Thais (Feb. 4, 1924), and continued to sing there regularly until 1940. He appeared at London’s Co vent Garden (1928, 1937); made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Romeo (March 20, 1931), remaining on the company’s roster until 1932. His farewell appearance was as Canio at the Opéra-Comique in 1953. His outstanding roles included Don José, Romeo, Julien in Louise, Aeneas, and Samson; he was also a fine singer of Italian and German roles.

Bibliography

R. Mancini, G. T (Paris, 1966); A. Segond, Album G. T (Aix-en-Provence, 1991).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire