Leon Melchissedec byNadar

as de Sainte-Croix in "PAUL ET VIRGINIE" by Masse CREATOR role l’Opéra-National-Lyrique 15 th November 1876


LEON MELCHISSEDEC
(Clermont Ferrand,)
7 May 1843-23 March 1925
French baritone
Studied with Alkan, Puget, Mocker and Levasseur at the Paris Conservatoire.Debut at the Paris Opéra-Comique on 16 July 1866 in Cohen's José Maria.He remained at the Opéra-Comique until 1877, His roles included Les Absents, Le premier jour de bonheur, Lalla-Roukh, Robinson Crusoé, Les dragons de Villars, Le pré aux clercs, Fantasio, Mireille, Richard Cœur de Lion and Le Caïd. In 1873 he became the first true baritone to sing the title role of Zampa .He went to the Théâtre-Lyrique, singing in Dimitri, Le capitaine Fracasse.] and the premieres of Paul et Virginie and Le timbre d’argent. In 1879 he joined the Paris Opéra, making his debut as Nevers in Les Huguenots on 17 November 1879. His repertoire there included Guillaume Tell, L'Africaine, La Favorite, Rigoletto, Faust, and he created roles in Le Tribut de Zamora, Tabarin, and Le Cid. Having sung Capulet in the first performance of Roméo et Juliette at the Opéra-Comique in 1873, he sang Mercutio when it transferred to the repertory of the Opéra. He left the Opéra in 1891 but rejoined from 1905–12, having become a professor of déclamation lyrique at the Paris Conservatoire in 1894.