Jocelyne Taillon (19 May 1941 in

Doudeville Doudeville () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography Called the flax capital, the town is situated at the centre of the Pays de Caux, the chalk plateau in High Normandy and one widely ...

– 10 June 2004 in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

) was a French lyrical singer.

Life and career

Taillon won the first prize at the 1966 Monte Carlo Singing Competition and embarked on a career as a concert artist.

Alain Pâris Alain Pâris (born 22 November 1947) is a French conductor and musicologist. Biography Born in Paris, Alain Pâris was trained as a pianist and has a law degree. He studied conducting with Pierre Dervaux, Paul Paray and Georg Solti and won the ...

. ''Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l'interpretation musicale au XX siècle.''

Éditions Robert Laffont Éditions Robert Laffont () is a book publishing company in France founded in 1941 by (1916–2010). Its publications are distributed in almost all francophone countries, but mainly in France, Canada and in Belgium. Imprints belonging to Édit ...

, Paris, 1995 (p918). She made her stage debut in ''

Ariane et Barbe-Bleue ''Ariane et Barbe-bleue'' (, ''Ariadne and Bluebeard'') is an opera in three acts by Paul Dukas. The French libretto is adapted (with very few changes) from the symbolist play of the same name by Maurice Maeterlinck, itself loosely based on the ...

'' by Dukas in Bordeaux in 1968, and in Geneva she appeared in ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' by

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter *Alexandre Bloch (1857–1919), French painter *Alfred Bloch ( ...

. She was then seen at the houses in Nantes, Marseille and at the Paris Opéra. In 1970 she took part in the

Holland Festival The Holland Festival () is the oldest and largest performing arts festival in the Netherlands. It takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theatre, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts, film and architec ...

, and at

Glyndebourne Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundre ...

in 1971 (Geneviève). Taillon made her

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

debut in 1979 (Cieca in ''

La Gioconda La Gioconda ( , ; "the joyful one" feminine_gender.html" ;"title="'feminine gender">f.'' may refer to: * ''Mona Lisa'' or ''La Gioconda'', a painting by Leonardo da Vinci * Lisa del Giocondo, the model depicted in da Vinci's painting * La Gioconda ...

'') and sang there for several seasons including Anna (''

Les Troyens ''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 ...

''), Quickly (''

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

'') and Erda (''

Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compo ...

''). In Nantes she took part in rare revivals of French works such as ''

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 ...

'' by Delibes and ''

Pénélope ''Pénélope'' is an opera in three acts by the French composer Gabriel Fauré. The libretto, by René Fauchois is based on Homer's ''Odyssey''. It was first performed at the Salle Garnier, Monte Carlo, on 4 March 1913. The piece is dedicated ...

'' by Fauré. Her voice was described as "deep and warm" and she displayed a "dramatic intensity which allowed her to make a mark in secondary roles".

Selected recordings

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...

- ''

William Tell William Tell (, ; ; ; ) is a legendary folk hero of Switzerland. He is known for shooting an apple off his son's head. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albrecht Gessler, ...

'' (

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

Lamberto Gardelli Lamberto Gardelli (8 November 191517 July 1998) was an Italian naturalized Swedish conductor,Lamberto Gardelli. ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. particularly associated with the Italian opera repertory, ...

) recorded 1972, EMI - Hedwige *

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 influe ...

- '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' ( Orchestre de Lyon,

Serge Baudo Serge Baudo (born 16 July 1927) is a French conductor, the son of the oboist Étienne Baudo. He is the nephew of the cellist Paul Tortelier. Baudo was conductor of the Orchestra of Radio Nice from 1959 to 1962. He then served as permanent conduct ...

) recorded 1978, Eurodisc - Geneviève *

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

- ''

L'enfant et les sortilèges ''L'enfant et les sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties'' (''The Child and the Spells: A Lyric Fantasy in Two Parts'') is an opera in one act, with music by Maurice Ravel to a libretto by Colette. It is Ravel's second opera, his first b ...

'' (

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

) recorded 1981, EMI - Mother, Cup, Dragonfly, Owl *

Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

- ''Les Troyens'' (Metropolitan Opera orchestra and chorus,

James Levine James Lawrence Levine ( ; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March ...

) recorded 1983, Deutsche Grammophon DVD - Anna

External links

Musique Opus 31
Biography

on Web Cantatas Website
Jocelyne Taillon
on Discogs
Jacques Offenbach – LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN – Antonia Trio (Van Dam, Plowright, Taillon)
on YouTube

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taillon, Jocelyne French operatic mezzo-sopranos 1941 births 2004 deaths People from Seine-Maritime Musicians from Normandy Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite 20th-century French women opera singers