Désiré (baritone)

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French opera singer

title: "Désiré (baritone)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1823-births", "1873-deaths", "french-operatic-baritones", "french-male-stage-actors", "musicians-from-lille", "19th-century-french-male-actors", "19th-century-french-male-opera-singers"] description: "French opera singer" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Désiré_(baritone)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary French opera singer ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Désiré.jpg" caption="Désiré as Jupiter in ''[[Orpheus in the Underworld]]'' at the Bouffes-Parisiens in 1858"] ::

Amable Courtecuisse (; 29 December 1823 – 7 September 1873), whose stage name was Désiré (), was a French baritone, who is particularly remembered for creating many comic roles in the works of the French operetta composer Jacques Offenbach.

Life and career

He was born in Lille or a nearby village of it, and studied the bassoon, singing, and declamation at the Lille Conservatory. His first appearances were at small theatres in Belgium and northern France beginning in 1845.

In 1847, he arrived at the Théâtre Montmartre in Paris where he met Hervé.

In subsequent years Désiré appeared in operetta theatres in Lille, Brussels, and Marseille. He also became a star at Hervé's Parisian Folies-Concertantes (later the Folies-Nouvelles).

Finally he was engaged by Jacques Offenbach for the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, where Désiré made his brilliantly successful debut on 16 May 1857 in Vent-du-Soir, ou l'horrible festin. Thereafter until 1873 he remained one of the star actors of Offenbach's company, appearing in many of the premieres of Offenbach's most famous operettas. His greatest success was his unforgettable portrayal of the role of Jupiter in Orpheus in the Underworld, which premiered on 21 October 1858.

Désiré also appeared at other Parisian theatres, including the Théâtre des Variétés, the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, and the Athénée-Musicale, and also worked with the French operetta composer Charles Lecocq.

At the end of his career Désiré became increasingly addicted to alcohol and died, abandoned and in poverty, in Asnières-sur-Seine. A large congregation consisting much of theatrical Paris (including Ludovic Halévy, Hector Crémieux, Charles Lecocq, Berthelier, Léonce, Hyacinthe, Baron and Anna Judic), attended his funeral on 10 September.

Roles created

Works by Offenbach unless otherwise noted:

In 1867 he also appeared at the Théâtre des Nouveautés as Sganarelle in La statue du commandeur.

References

  • This article incorporates some material re-edited from French Wikipedia

References

  1. [[Karl-Josef Kutsch. Kutsch, K. J.]]; [[Leo Riemens. Riemens, Leo]]. ''[[Großes Sängerlexikon]]'' (fourth edition, in German), p. 1130. K. G. Saur, Munich, 2003. {{ISBN. 978-3-598-11598-1.
  2. Gänzl K. ''The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre.'' Blackwell, Oxford, 1994. {{ISBN. 978-0-631-16457-9.
  3. La Salle, Albert de. ''Histoire des Bouffes-parisiens''. Librairie Nouvelle, Paris, 1860, p64: In ''Les Petits Prodiges'' (1857), he played a solo, alongside an eccentric violin solo from [[Henri Tayau. Tayau]] and one on the cello by [[Léonce (actor). Léonce]].
  4. Traubner, Richard]]. ''Operetta — a theatrical history.'' Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1983. {{ISBN. 978-0-385-13232-9.
  5. [[Walsh TJ]]. ''Second Empire Opera – The Théâtre-Lyrique Paris 1851-1870'', pp. 359–360. John Calder Ltd, London, 1981.
  6. With the exception of Offenbach.
  7. [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k274985m/f3 ''Le Figaro'', 11 septembre 1873, p.3] {{Gallica
  8. [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k514435h/f3 ''La Presse'', 11 septembre 1873, p.3] {{Gallica
  9. Yon, Jean-Claude. ''Jacques Offenbach.'' Editions Gallimard, Paris, 2000.
  10. Delibes, Leo (1876). ''Le serpent à plumes'' (piano-vocal score). Paris: Colombier. [http://imslp.org/wiki/Le_serpent_à_plumes_(Delibes,_Léo)#IMSLP31045 IMSLP file #31045].
  11. Parsons, Charles H. ''Opera Premieres: An Index of Casts/Performances'', p. 406 Volume 15 in the series ''The Mellen Opera Index''. The Edward Mellen Press, Lewiston, New York, 1993. {{ISBN. 978-0-88946-414-8.
  12. Short biography at Wikisource]]).

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1823-births1873-deathsfrench-operatic-baritonesfrench-male-stage-actorsmusicians-from-lille19th-century-french-male-actors19th-century-french-male-opera-singers