Henry Sellier by Carjat

as Arnold in "William Tell" by Rossini

HENRY SELLIER
(François Alfred Alexander Sellier)
(26 March 1849 - 26 June 1899).

As a young man of very poor ancestry he came to Paris looking for work. When he worked as an errand boy for a merchant his voice was discovered and with financial help he was able to study at the Conservatoire National de Paris. In 1876 he finished his vocal studies by winning the "Prix du Conservatoire". After that he was immediately engaged by the Grand-Opéra, where in 1878 he made his debut as Arnold in Rossini's "Guillaume Tell". Here he created the role of Manoël at the première in Gounod's "Le Tribut de Zamora" (1881) and the role of Paolo at the première of "Françoise de Rimini" by Ambroise Thomas (1882). He was widely admired for the balanced beauty of his tenor voice and the dramatic force of his performance. After a hunting accident he ended his career at the Grand-Opéra in 1888. The season 1889/90 he was engaged at Brussels at "The Théâtre de la Monnaie" , where he created the role of Mathô at the première of Ernest Reyer's opera "Salammbô". The season 1890/91 he was engaged at the Opéra of Marseille and the following years he was engaged by various French provincial theaters.