André Theophile Joseph Dran (15 June 1924, in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

– 12 September 2014, in

Pouancé Pouancé () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 15 December 2016, it was merged into the new commune Ombrée d'Anjou. It is located on the border of 4 French departements: Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne in the n ...

) was a French tenor,L'Art Lyrique website
accessed 25 September 2015. whose career was mainly restricted to France and who left several complete opera recordings.

Life and career

Dran appeared at the Paris Opéra-Comique from 1953 to 1970, undertaking roles such as Pomponnet in ''

la Fille de Madame Angot ''La fille de Madame Angot'' (, ''Madame Angot's Daughter'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq with words by Clairville (Louis-François Nicolaïe), Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning. It was premiered in Brussels in ...

'', Antonin in '' Ciboulette'', Nadir in ''

Les Pêcheurs de perles ' (, ''The Pearl Fishers'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performan ...

'', Beppe in '' Paillasse'', Benoît in ''

Le roi l'a dit ''Le roi l'a dit'' (''The King Has Spoken'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet. It is a lively comedy, remarkably requiring 14 singers – six men and eight women.MacDonald H. "Le roi l'a di ...

'', Pinkerton in ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...

'', Alfred in ''

La Chauve-Souris ''La Chauve-Souris'' (French: ''The Bat'') was the name of a touring revue during the early 1900s. Originating in Moscow and then Paris, and directed by Nikita Balieff, the revue toured the United States, Europe, and South Africa. The show consiste ...

'' and Jean in '' Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame''. In the 1954 revival of Massenet's ''Jongleur de Notre-Dame'' one critic commented that Dran took the leading part "with great charm and intelligence. His voice sounded a little strained at times, but a more sensitive rendering of the role could not be imagined : even the juggling tricks and the dances were convincingly performed". Dran appeared in the premieres of

Jean-Michel Damase Jean-Michel Damase (; 27 January 1928 – 21 April 2013)see Bruneau-Boulmier, Rodolphe was a French pianist, conductor and composer of classical music. Career Damase was born in Bordeaux, the son of harpist Micheline Kahn. He was studying pian ...

's ''Colombe'' at the Bordeaux May Festival in 1961, in a production by Roger Lalande conducted by the composer, ''La Symphonie Pastorale'' by Guillaume Landré in Rouen in 1968 conducted by Pierre-Michel Leconte, as the Man in Bondon's ''La Nuit foudroyée'' in Metz in 1968, and in ''Goya'' by

Tony Aubin Tony Louis Alexandre Aubin (; 8 December 1907 – 21 September 1981) was a French composer. Life and Career Aubin was born in Paris on 8 December 1907. From 1925 to 1930, he studied at the Paris Conservatory under Samuel Rousseau (music theory ...

at the Théâtre Municipal de l'Opéra in

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

during the 3rd Festival de Lille in 1974, conducted by the composer. Dran participated in a rare revival of ''

La Basoche ''La Basoche'' is an opéra comique in three acts, with music by André Messager and words by Albert Carré. The opera is set in Paris in 1514 and depicts the complications that arise when the elected "king" of the student guild, the Basoche, ...

'' at

Enghien-les-Bains Enghien-les-Bains () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departements of France, department of Val-d'Oise, France. It is located in the northern suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Enghien-les-Bains is famous as a s ...

Casino in 1958 with

Lillie Grandval Lillie Grandval (Frankfurt, 20 December 1904 – 21 August 2000) Kutsch, K. J. and Riemens, Leo (2003). ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (fourth edition, in German). Munich: K. G. Saur, p. 1808. . was a French soprano, active in opera and operetta for ...

and Willy Clément conducted by

Jésus Etcheverry Jésus Etcheverry (14 November 1911 in Bordeaux – 12 January 1988 in Paris) was a French operatic conductor (music), conductor. He began studying the violin while still very young, and played with diverse small orchestras to pay for his tuitions ...

, and a successful production of Delibes's ''Le Roi l'a dit'' in Bordeaux and Paris in 1959 with Christine Harbell, Hélène Régelly and

Louis Noguéra Louis Noguéra was a French bass-baritone (born in Algiers on 12 October 1910, died in Paris on 8 March 1984Karl-Josef Kutsch, Kutsch, K. J. and Leo Riemens, Riemens, Leo (2003). ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (fourth edition, in German). Munich: K. G ...

, in which his Benoit was described as "skilled yet easy-going". He also appeared in '' Fortunio'' in Enghien-les-Bains in 1957, ''

The Rape of Lucretia ''The Rape of Lucretia'' (Op. 37) is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, written for Kathleen Ferrier, who performed the title role. Ronald Duncan based his English libretto on André Obey's play '. Performance history The opera wa ...

'' in Rouen in 1966, ''

Fra Diavolo Fra Diavolo (lit. Brother Devil; 7 April 1771–11 November 1806), is the popular name given to Michele Pezza, a guerrilla leader who resisted the French occupation of Naples, proving an "inspirational practitioner of popular insurrection". P ...

'' in Marseille in 1967, and ''

Le Pont des soupirs ''Le pont des soupirs '' ("The Bridge of Sighs") is an opéra bouffe (or operetta) set in Venice, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1861. The French language, French libretto was written by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. ...

'' in Bordeaux in 1969. Among Dran's recordings are ''

La Belle Hélène ''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy's elopement with Paris (mythology ...

'' by Offenbach (Pâris) conducted by

Leibowitz Leibowitz is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Barry Leibowitz (born 1945), American-Israeli basketball player * Henoch Leibowitz (c.1918–2008), head of the Rabbinical Seminary of America * Herschel Leibowitz (1925-20 ...

( Nixa, 1952), ''

Orphée aux enfers ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act " opéra bouffon" at the Th ...

'' by Offenbach (Pluton-Aristée) conducted by Leibowitz (Nixa, 1952), ''

L'Heure espagnole ''L'heure espagnole'' is a French one-act opera from 1911, described as a ''comédie musicale'', with music by Maurice Ravel to a French libretto by Franc-Nohain, based on Franc-Nohain's 1904 play ('comédie-bouffe') of the same name The opera, s ...

'' by Ravel (Gonzalve) conducted by Leibowitz ( Vox, 1952), ''

Les Troyens à Carthage ''Les Troyens'' (; in English: ''The Trojans'') is a French grand opera in five acts, running for about five hours, by Hector Berlioz. The libretto was written by Berlioz himself from Virgil's epic poem the ''Aeneid''; the score was composed be ...

'' by Berlioz (Iopas) conducted by

Hermann Scherchen Hermann Scherchen (21 June 1891 – 12 June 1966) was a German conductor, who was principal conductor of the city orchestra of Winterthur from 1922 to 1950. He promoted contemporary music, beginning with Schoenberg's '' Pierrot Lunaire'', follow ...

(

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, 1952), '' Louise'' by Charpentier (Le poète) conducted by

Jean Fournet Jean Fournet (14 April 1913 – 3 November 2008) was a French flautist and conducting, conductor. Biography Fournet was born in Rouen in 1913. His father was a flutist who gave him some instruction on the flute and music theory. Fournet was t ...

(

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

, 1956) and ''

La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein ''La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein'' (''The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein'') is an opéra bouffe (a form of operetta), in three acts and four tableaux by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The s ...

'' by Offenbach (Fritz), conducted by Leibowitz (Urania, 1958). A live 1971 broadcast of '' Le Comte de Luxembourg'' by

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is '' The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life and career L ...

(French version - Comte Fernand de Luxembourg), conducted by Adophe Sibert, has been reissued on

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

. André Dran married the soprano Monique de Pondeau. He was the father of the tenor Thierry Dran (1953-2021) who had a career in European opera houses and recordings and author of ''Le chant m'a sauvé'' (2007).Julien Dran, ténor. Entretien 2010 par Catherine Scholler at the ResMusica website
accessed 30 September 2015. His grandson, also a tenor, is Julien Dran (son of Thierry Dran and Martine March, born 1983) who has appeared in principal roles at the Opéra de Metz, Opéra de Bordeaux and Opéra de Marseille, and who was a winner at the Paris Opera Awards in 2013.Opéra National de Bordeaux. Le Barbier de Séville dossier de presse, 24 June 2012, p11

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dran, Andre 1924 births French operatic tenors 20th-century French male opera singers 2014 deaths