Jacques Jansen (né Toupin; born Paris, 22 November 1913 – 13 March 2002) was a French ''baryton-martin'' singer, particularly associated with the role of Pelléas in the opera by Debussy, but also active in operetta and on the concert platform, and later as a teacher.

Life and career

Jansen had a wide musical and artistic education; after studying the violin in Paris, he took lessons in

solfège In music, solfège (, ) or solfeggio (; ), also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, among many names, is a music education method used to teach aural skills, pitch and sight-reading of Western music. Solfège is a form of solmization, though the two ...

and bassoon at the conservatoire in

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metr ...

, where he also pursued courses in fine arts. Having taken vocal lessons with

Charles Panzéra Charles uguste LouisPanzéra (February 16, 1896 in Geneva – June 6, 1976 in Paris) was a Swiss operatic and concert baritone.''Piano ma non solo'', Jean-Pierre Thiollet, Anagramme Ed., 2012, Overview Panzéra's studies at the Paris Conserv ...

, from 1938 he studied under

Claire Croiza Claire Croiza (14 September 1882 – 27 May 1946) was a French mezzo-soprano and an influential teacher of singers. Career Claire Croiza (née Conelly, or O'Connolly) was born in Paris, the daughter of an expatriate American father and an Itali ...

and Georges Viseur (solfège) at 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 ...

. He also took classes with

René Simon René Simon (1898 in Troyes – 1971) was a French actor and founder in 1925 of the Cours Simon drama school in Paris. Notable alumni of Cours Simon include Benoît Petitjean and Jean Reno Jean Reno () (born 30 July 1948), is a French acto ...

and

Louis Jouvet Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet (24 December 1887 – 16 August 1951) was a French actor, theatre director and filmmaker. Early life Jouvet was born in Crozon. He had a stutter as a young man and originally trained as a pharmacist. He recei ...

and won prizes which might have allowed him to follow a career in acting. In 1939 he sang the fountain scene (Act 2 scene 1) and the tower scene (Act 3 scene 1) of

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

's opera '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' with the

Orchestre National de France The Orchestre national de France (ONF; literal translation, ''National Orchestra of France'') is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since ...

under Inghelbrecht, an experience which left him overwhelmed with joy.Dutronc, Jean-Louis. " Jacques Jansen : 30 ans de Pelléas ". In: Pelléas et Mélisande, Avant-Scene, Paris, 1977. He made his debut as Pelléas at the

Grand Théâtre de Genève Grand Théâtre de Genève is an opera house in Geneva, Switzerland. As with many other opera houses, the Grand Théâtre de Genève is both a venue and an institution. The venue is a majestic building, towering over Place Neuve, offici ...

in 1941. After his Paris debut at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienn ...

as Pelléas on 20 April 1941, Jansen also appeared as a singer in Fauré's ''

Masques et bergamasques ''Masques et bergamasques'', Op. 112, is an orchestral suite by Gabriel Fauré. It was arranged by the composer from incidental music he provided for a theatrical entertainment commissioned for Albert I, Prince of Monaco in 1919. The original scor ...

'' (January 1942), Valérien in ''Malvina'' (July 1945) and the title role in ''Fragonard'' (February 1946).Wolff S. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900–1950)''. André Bonne, Paris, 1953. Jansen recorded Pelléas in an Opéra-Comique cast under the conductor

Roger Désormière Roger Désormière () (13 September 1898 – 25 October 1963) was a French conductor. He was an enthusiastic champion of contemporary composers, but also conducted performances of early eighteenth century French music. Life and career Désormière ...

in April and May 1941 with

Irène Joachim Irène Joachim (13 March 1913 - 20 April 2001) was a French soprano, and later a vocal teacher. Early life Daughter of German officer Herman Joachim and French violinist Suzanne Chaigneau, and granddaughter of the violinist Joseph Joachim, she ...

as Mélisande.Massin B. ''Les Joachim – Une famille de musiciens.'' Fayard, Paris, 1999. This recording is widely considered as a reference recording of this opera.Blyth A. Pelléas et Mélisande, in ''Opera, Thirty all-time great recordings''. ''

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 libre ...

'', London, 2002. Jansen later recorded the same role under

André Cluytens André Cluytens (, ; born Augustin Zulma Alphonse Cluytens; 26 March 19053 June 1967)Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. was a Belgian-born French conductor who was active in the conc ...

and Inghelbrecht. He also sang the role under Désormière with the Opéra-Comique company at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

in June 1949, as well as in New York, Brussels, Lisbon, Berlin, Milan, Rome and Tokyo. Having already appeared in three films, he was also considered for the role of popular singer Jacques Sartory in the 1945 crime drama film '' Seul dans la nuit'', before being passed over for Jacques Pills. His last performance was in

in March 1971. Although best remembered for the role of Pelléas he also sang baroque opera (''

Les Indes galantes (French: "The Amorous Indies") is an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Louis Fuzelier. It takes the form of an '' opéra-ballet'' with a prologue and (in its final form) four ''entrées'' (acts). Following an allegorical prologue, ...

'' and ''

Platée ''Platée'' is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Adrien-Joseph Le Valois d'Orville. Rameau bought the rights to the libretto ''Platée ou Junon jalouse'' (''Plataea, or Juno Jealous'') by Jacques A ...

'' by

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera ...

), modern opera ('' Christophe Colomb'' by

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

and ''

Les caprices de Marianne ''Les caprices de Marianne'' is a two-act opéra comique by Henri Sauguet with a French libretto by Jean-Pierre Gredy after Alfred de Musset. It was first performed at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 1954, with the Orchestre de la Société des ...

'' at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in 1956), operetta (''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to ...

'' by

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 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 ...

, the premiere of ''La Belle de Paris'' by Georges Van Parys in 1961 and Antonin in ''

Ciboulette ''Ciboulette'' is a French opérette in three acts, music by Reynaldo Hahn, libretto by Robert de Flers and Francis de Croisset, first performed at the Théâtre des Variétés, in Paris, on 7 April 1923. One of the most elegant and refined com ...

'' in Geneva) and

mélodie A ''mélodie'' () is a form of French art song, arising in the mid-19th century. It is comparable to the German ''Lied''. A ''chanson'', by contrast, is a folk or popular French song. The literal meaning of the word in the French language is "melod ...

s. Jansen was a magnetic interpreter of Danilo in ''The Merry Widow'', which he performed some 1,500 times in France, displaying his acting skills, which he also used in several films. He dubbed the singing voice of

Alain Cuny René Xavier Marie Alain Cuny (12 July 1908 – 16 May 1994) was a French actor of stage and screen. He was closely linked with the works of Paul Claudel and Antonin Artaud, and for his performances for the Théâtre national populaire and Od ...

in '' Les Visiteurs du Soir'' (1942).Obituary – Jacques Jansen. ''Opera'', June 2002, 680. He was for five years professor at the Conservatoire in

Marseille 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 Fran ...

, then held a similar post at the Paris Conservatoire, finally teaching vocal technique at the Opéra-Studio.

Discography

Besides the three recordings of ''Pelléas et Mélisande'', Jansen's discography includes Frédéric in a complete ''

Lakmé ''Lakmé'' is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the Opéra-Comique at the (second) Salle Favart ...

''. He recorded selections from '' Véronique'' with

Yvonne Printemps Yvonne Printemps (; born Yvonne Wigniolle; 25 July 1894 – 19 January 1977) was a French singer and actress who achieved stardom on stage and screen in France and internationally. Printemps went on the stage in Paris at the age of 12, and ...

in 1941, ''The Merry Widow'' in 1953, ''Ta bouche'' in 1956, and ''Fragonard'' in 1957. In 1952 he recorded a recital for Decca of Ravel, Debussy, Chabrier and Hahn (LXT2774) and songs by

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

Jaubert Jaubert is a French surname of Germanic origin : ''Gaut-'' and ''- berht'', first used as a given name. Notable people with the surname include: * George F. Jaubert, A Swiss citizen who in 1903 patented Oxylithe, a form of sodium peroxide or sodi ...

, Beydts, and Françaix.In part from: AHRC Research Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music accessed 13 December 2010 website http://www.charm.kcl.ac.uk/index.html.

Filmography

* 1942 : ''Patricia'' by Paul Mesnier * 1944 : ''La Malibran'' by

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French actor, Lucien Guitry, and follo ...

* 1944 : ''Bonsoir mesdames, bonsoir messieurs'' by

Roland Tual Roland Tual (10 November 1902 – 29 August 1956) was a French director and producer. First married to Colette Jéramec, the daughter of a rich Parisian industrialist, Tual then married the producer and director Denise Piazza, also known under t ...

* 1949 : ''La Ronde des heures'' by Alexandre Ryder * 1972 : ''

Figaro-ci, Figaro-là ''Figaro-ci, Figaro-là'' is a 1972 French film directed by Hervé Bromberger. Cast * Jean-François Poron - Beaumarchais * Marie-Christine Barrault - Julie * Yves Rénier - Gudin * Isabelle Huppert - Pauline * Alexandre Rignault - Caron, le ...

'' by

Hervé Bromberger Hervé Bromberger (11 November 1918 – 25 November 1993) was a French film director and screenwriter. He directed 16 films between 1951 and 1982. His 1951 film '' Paris Vice Squad'' was entered into the 1951 Cannes Film Festival. Selected ...

(TV)

References

External links

Obituary in French
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jansen, Jacques French operatic baritones 1913 births 2002 deaths Singers from Paris 20th-century French male opera singers