Adolphe-Joseph-Louis Alizard (29 December 1814 – 23 January 1850) was a French

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thre ...

. He was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. He began his musical career as a pupil of

Chrétien Urhan Chrétien Urhan (Baptised as Christian Urhan; 16 February 1790 – 2 November 1845) was a French violinist, violist, organist and composer. Career outline Born in Montjoie, Urhan's father first introduced him to the violin. He was first publicly ...

on the violin; but his master accidentally discovered that he had a remarkably fine voice and persuaded him to abandon his instrument and enter the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

as a pupil of

David Banderali David Banderali (or ''Davidde''; Palazzolo sull'Oglio, Italy, January 12, 1789 – Paris, 13 June 1849) was an Italian tenor, popular in France in the nineteenth century. He was also professor of singing at the Conservatory of Milan and from 18 ...

. His voice was naturally a deep bass, but finding that after singing at the opera in Paris for five years he was still employed in secondary parts, he entered upon a diligent course of practice, by which he gained several notes in the upper register, and was able to take baritone parts. The strain upon his chest however was too great to be maintained without injury, and after several attacks, he died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

at the age of 35.

Repertoire (incomplete)

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera '' Robert le d ...

, ''

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history ...

'' (le Comte de Saint-Bris) * Giuseppe Verdi, ''

Jérusalem ''Jérusalem'' is a grand opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was to be an adaptation and partial translation of the composer's original 1843 Italian opera, ''I Lombardi alla prima crociata''. It was the one opera which he regarde ...

'' (Roger)

Notes

References

* {{authority control Operatic bass-baritones French basses French operatic baritones Singers from Paris 1814 births 1850 deaths 19th-century French male opera singers 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in France Conservatoire de Paris alumni