André Pernet (6 January 1894 – 17 June 1966) 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 thr ...
opera performer.
After serving as a military officer in World War I, Pernet studied at the
Paris Conservatory before making his operatic debut in
Massenet's
Hérodiade at Nice, in 1921. He sang at the
Paris Opéra beginning in 1928. He also performed in
Amsterdam,
Brussels, London and
Monte Carlo.
He is perhaps best remembered today for his role as the father in the 1939
film version of
Gustave Charpentier's
''Louise'', directed by
Abel Gance
Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J ...
and also featuring
Grace Moore and
Georges Thill. He was noted for singing the title parts in ''
Mefistofele'', ''
Boris Godunov
Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...
'', ''
Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...
'' and ''
Don Quichotte''. Among the operas in which he created roles during the premiere performances were ''
Le marchand de Venise'' (Hahn), ''
Oedipe
Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...
'' (Enesco), ''Maximilien'' (Milhaud) and ''Vercingétorix'' (Canteloube).
Pernet's smooth, elegant, well-produced voice can be heard on a number of recordings which he made between the two world wars. Some of his records are available on CD re-issues.
References
*https://web.archive.org/web/20070209023629/http://www.belcantosociety.org/store/product_info.php?products_id=180
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pernet, Andre
1894 births
1966 deaths
People from Vosges (department)
Conservatoire de Paris alumni
Operatic bass-baritones
20th-century French male opera singers
French basses
French operatic baritones