Jean Dun, also known as Jean Dun "père", (? – 1735) was a French opera singer active at the Paris Opéra where he created many

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

roles during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was also the bass soloist at the church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis in Paris during the time Charpentier was the Master of Music there. His voice is described in contemporary sources as ''basse-taille'', which is closer in quality to that of a modern

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

. Little is known about his early life, but according to Casaglia, he appeared in the small role of Eutyro in the premiere of

Francesco Cavalli Francesco Cavalli (born Pietro Francesco Caletti-Bruni; 14 February 1602 – 14 January 1676) was a Venetian composer, organist and singer of the early Baroque period. He succeeded his teacher Claudio Monteverdi as the dominant and leading op ...

's '' Ercole amante'' in 1662.Casaglia (2005) By 1697, he was singing leading roles, sometimes creating as many as two or three in one opera, e.g. in the 1710 premiere of André Campra's opéra-ballet '' Les fêtes vénitiennes''. In the course of his lengthy career he appeared in more than 37 operas.Antony (2008) p. 34. Dun retired from the stage in 1720 with a pension from the Paris Opéra, but from 1726 to 1734 he sang in the chorus there. He died in Paris the following year.Parfaict (1767) p. 351 Two of Dun's children were also opera singers. His son, Jean Dun "fils" (died 1772), also sang leading bass roles with the Paris Opéra. Father and son appeared together in the 1718 premiere of Campra's '' Les âges''. His daughter, who performed as " Mlle Dun", was much applauded for her voice and charming stage presence but performed for only five years at the Opéra before her early death in 1713.

References

Notes Sources *Antony, James R. (2008)
"Dun, Jean (i) [père
/nowiki>"">ère">"Dun, Jean (i) [père
/nowiki>"in Laura Williams Macy (ed.) ''The Grove Book of Opera Singers'', p. 134. Oxford University Press. * *Gosine, C. Jane (2007)
"Correlations between handwriting changes and revisions to works within the ''Mélanges''"
in Catherine Cessac (ed.) ''Les manuscrits autographes de Marc-Antoine Charpentier'', pp. 103–120. Editions Mardaga. *Jackson, Roland John (2005)
''Performance Practice: A Dictionary Guide for Musicians''
Routledge. * Parfaict, Claude (1767
"Dun, (Jean)"
''Dictionnaire des théâtres de Paris'' Vol. 2, pp. 350–351. Chez Rozet. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dun, Jean 17th-century births 1735 deaths French operatic baritones 17th-century French male opera singers 18th-century French male opera singers