Victor Maurel
Victor Maurel (17 June 1848 – 22 October 1923) was a French
Biography
Maurel was born in
He made his début in Marseille (1867) in
In 1879 Maurel returned to the Paris Opéra and sang there frequently until 1894, in between foreign tours and a financially unsuccessful spell as co-director of the revived Théâtre-Italien at the
Maurel's antipathy to Germany did not extent to its music. He was much impressed by Wagner's operas,
According to
Maurel returned to the Metropolitan Opera in 1894–1896 and 1898–99 and after retiring from performing he designed its production of Gounod’s Mireille (1919). For a time he had an opera studio in London, and from 1909 until his death he taught in New York. He wrote books on singing and opera staging, including Le Giant remove par la science (1892), Un Probleme d'art (1893), L'Art du chant (1897), and memoirs, Dix ans de carriere (1897).[1]
Some examples of his singing are preserved on gramophone records he made in the early 20th century. These recordings, which include a few French songs and arias from Otello, Falstaff and Don Giovanni, have been reissued on CD by various companies. In a study of old recordings J. B. Steane comments that some of Maurel's are of cheap music unworthy of the singer's attention and others fail to show why he was so highly regarded in his prime, but that Don Giovanni's Serenade shows "a well-preserved, virile voice and an aristocratic finish to the style" and Maurel's performance of Falstaff's short aria "Quand' ero paggio" "impresses for its buoyancy – 'ero sottile, sottile, sottile' bounces gaily on its podgy toes – and the colourful vocal acting. It is a delightful memento".[10]
Maurel was married to Frédérique Rosine de Grésac, a well-known writer who used the pen-name Fred de Gresac.[11] In about 1909 they moved to New York, where Maurel died on 22 October 1923 at the age of 75.[1]
Gallery
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Rosenthal, Harold, and Karen Henson. "Maurel, Victor", Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press, 2009 (subscription required)
- ^ a b c d e "Montaudran", "Victor Maurel", Le Figaro, 24 October 1923, p. 1
- ^ a b "Mr Victor Maurel", The Daily Telegraph, 24 October 1923, p. 6
- ^ a b c Martin, p. 253
- ^ Phillips-Matz, p. 712
- ^ "Verdi's Falstaff at Berlin", The Times, 2 June 1893, p. 5
- ^ Dryden, p. 37
- ^ Shaw, p. 338
- ^ "Victor Maurel", The Manchester Guardian, 25 October 1923, p. 8
- ^ Steane, p. 19
- ^ Bordman, Gerald, and Thomas S. Hischak. "Gresac, Fred(erique Rosine) De", The Oxford Companion to American Theatre, Oxford University Press 2004 (subscription required)
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-8108-5880-0.
- Martin, Jules (1895). Nos artistes: portraits et biographies (in French). Paris: Ollendorff. OCLC 1157118470.
- ISBN 978-0-19-313204-7.
- ISBN 978-0-37-031271-2.
- ISBN 978-0-71-560661-2.