Charles Hardouin (1694 in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

, fl.

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

– 1718) was a French

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

tic baritone (''basse taille''). Beginning his career as a cathedral singer, Hardouin was engaged by the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

as a principal singer around 1693–1694, though from 1697 onwards he was eclipsed by the more powerful

Gabriel-Vincent Thévenard Gabriel-Vincent Thévenard (10 August 1669 – 24 August 1741) was a French operatic baritone (''basse taille''). Thévenard was born at Orléans or possibly Paris. Arriving in Paris in 1690, he studied under the composer André Cardinal Dest ...

. He was still singing in 1718 when he was acclaimed as Poliphème in

Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...

's '' Acis et Galatée''.

Roles created

*The grand priest in Destouches's '' Issé'' (Paris, 1697) *Mars in Desmarets' '' Vénus et Adonis'' (Paris, 1697) *Argante in André Campra's ''

Tancrède ''Tancrède'' is a 1702 ''tragédie en musique'' (a French opera in the lyric tragedy tradition) in a prologue and five acts by composer André Campra and librettist Antoine Danchet, based on ''Gerusalemme liberata'' by Torquato Tasso. The opera ...

'' (Paris, 1702) *Cadmus in

Marin Marais Marin Marais (; 31 May 1656, in Paris – 15 August 1728, in Paris) was a French composer and viol player. He studied composition with Jean-Baptiste Lully, often conducting his operas, and with master of the bass viol Monsieur de Sainte-Colomb ...

's ''

Sémélé is an opera by Marin Marais with a libretto by Antoine Houdar de la Motte first performed on 9 April 1709, by the Paris Opera at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. The opera is in the form of a ''tragédie en musique'' with a prologue and five acts ...

'' (Paris, 1709) *Filindo/Héraclite in Campra's ''

Les fêtes vénitiennes ''Les festes vénitiennes'' ("Venetian Festivities"), also spelled ''Les fêtes vénitiennes'', is an ''opéra-ballet'' by the French composer André Campra. It consists of a prologue (later sometimes omitted, abridged or replaced) and three ''en ...

'' (Paris, 1710) *Eole/Arbas in Campra's ''

Idoménée ''Idoménée'' (English: ''Idomeneus'') is an opera by the French composer André Campra. It takes the form of a ''tragédie en musique'' in a prologue and five acts. ''Idoménée'' was first performed on 12 January 1712 by the Académie royale de ...

'' (Paris, 1712)

Sources

*Weller, Philip (1992), 'Hardouin' in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', ed. Stanley Sadie (London) French operatic baritones Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown 17th-century French male opera singers 18th-century French male opera singers {{France-opera-singer-stub