Eugène, Charles, Antoine Crosti (21 October 1833 – 30 December 1908) was a 19th-century French baritone and singing teacher.

Biography

Training

Born in Paris, Crosti was a student at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or 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 Jean Ja ...

then called "Conservatoire national de musique et de déclamation" where he won the First prize at the singing competition in 1857.

Opéra-Comique (1857–1866)

He was introduced to the audience for the first time at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

in '' La Gioconda''. He sang the role of the ''chambellan'' in ''La Fiancée'' by Auber in February 1858 and ''Les Sabots de la Marquise'' by Ernest Boulanger, in March 1858. He created the role of ''Chapelle'' in ''Chapelle et Bachaumont'', 1 act

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

, libretto by Armand Barthet, music by Jules Cressonois, on 18 June 1858.

Conservatoire national de musique et de déclamation (1876–1903)

After creating the highly acclaimed characters of certain operas, he was appointed singing teacher in October 1876, at the Conservatoire de musique et de déclamation (1836), where he had Léon Escalaïs and Maria Lureau among other students. He wrote didactic works and translates arias and operas, among others Italian: ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

'', ''

La Bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'', ''La Martyre'', ''

Zazà ''Zazà'' () is an opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo, with a libretto by the composer, which draws on the same material as the French play '' Zaza'' (1898). The story concerns the French music hall singer, Zazà, and her affair and subsequent decisio ...

'', ''Chatterton''... A member of the Higher Council of Education, he ceased his tenure in 1903 and continued to give private lessons, singing and scenery lessons.

Theories of voice and singing

For Crosti, there is not only the

chest voice Chest voice is a term used within vocal music. The use of this term varies widely within vocal pedagogical circles. There is no consistent opinion among vocal music professionals regarding the term. Chest voice can be used in relation to: * A part ...

and head voice; there is a kind of intermediate emission that he calls palatal voice, and that is a slight modification of the breast voice. The palatal voice is produced at the

glottis The glottis (: glottises or glottides) is the opening between the vocal folds (the rima glottidis). The glottis is crucial in producing sound from the vocal folds. Etymology From Ancient Greek ''γλωττίς'' (glōttís), derived from ''γ ...

level following the same mechanism as the chest voice itself (vibrating strings in all their length), but it differs from the latter in that the resonance, instead of being made above all in the

thorax The thorax (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main di ...

, is supported under the palatal vault by an appropriate arrangement of the

pharynx The pharynx (: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the human mouth, mouth and nasal cavity, and above the esophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs respectively). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates ...

, the

soft palate The soft palate (also known as the velum, palatal velum, or muscular palate) is, in mammals, the soft biological tissue, tissue constituting the back of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is part of the palate of the mouth; the other part is ...

. The vocal breath, sent to the frontal sinuses and striking directly at the upper walls of the palate, contracts the roundness, majesty and softness to which the nasal cavities it passes, without vibrating them, however, add sound still. It is also in this register that the richest sounds of an organ occur. It is therefore necessary to take care of the production, because it is also the medium, part of the voice in which the songs to be sung are usually written. (Eugène Crosti. Le gradus du chanteur, 1893).

Teaching materials

*1878: ''Abrégé de l'art du chant'' *1878: ''Six exercices vocaux'' *1880: ''La voix des enfants'' *1893: ''Le gradus du chanteur'' *1894: ''Première années de chant'' *1896: ''Précis de prononciation'' *1896: *1896:

Translation

Notes

References

External links

Portraits sur le site de la Bibliothèque nationale de France
'' BnF'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Crosti, Eugene 1833 births 1908 deaths Singers from Paris 19th-century French male opera singers French operatic baritones Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Conservatoire de Paris alumni Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Knights of the Legion of Honour Chevaliers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques