Joseph Royer (1884,

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

– August 10, 1965,

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

) was a Canadian

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic

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 ...

Life and career

Born in

, Royer moved with his family to the United States as a child and spent his youth in

Berlin, New Hampshire Berlin ( ) is a city along the Androscoggin River in Coös County, New Hampshire, Coös County in northern New Hampshire, United States. It is the northernmost city in New Hampshire and the only city in Coös County. The population was 9,425 at ...

. After working as a church musician in his hometown, he moved to New York City to study singing with

Victor Maurel Victor Maurel (17 June 184822 October 1923) was a French baritone who enjoyed an international reputation in opera. He sang in opera houses in Paris and London, Milan, Moscow, New York, St Petersburg and many other venues. He was particularly asso ...

. He made his professional opera debut with the

Aborn Opera Company The Aborn Opera Company, also known as the Aborn English Opera Company, was an American opera company that was active from 1895 through 1922. History Founded and operated by brothers Milton Aborn (1864–1933) and Sargent Aborn (1866–1956), t ...

as Atahanael in Massenet's ''

Thais Thais can be the plural of ''Thai'' and refer to: * The Thai people, the main ethnic group of Thailand * The Thai peoples or Tai peoples, the ethnic groups of southern China and Southeast Asia In the singular, Thais may refer to: People Ancien ...

''. In 1912 he portrayed Raminagrobis in the world premiere of

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...

's ''

Panurge Panurge (from , used to mean "knave, rogue") is one of the principal characters in ''Gargantua and Pantagruel'', a series of five novels by François Rabelais. Especially important in the third and fourth books, he is an exceedingly crafty knave, ...

'' at the Théâtre de la Gaîté in Paris. In 1920 he performed the role of Michele in

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 ...

's first production of Puccini's ''

Il tabarro ''Il tabarro'' (''The Cloak'') is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on 's play ''La houppelande''. It is the first of the trio of operas known as ''Il trittico''. The first performance was given ...

''. That same year he portrayed Pistola in Verdi's ''

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 ...

'' at

La Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

and Jack Rance in Puccini's '' La fanciulla del West'' at

La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (; "The Phoenix Theatre") is a historic opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th cen ...

. Royer was a regular performer with the

San Carlo Opera Company The San Carlo Opera Company was the name of two different opera companies active in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century. Henry Russell's San Carlo Opera The first company was founded by impresario Henry Russell, initi ...

from 1916 to 1934. During the 1920s he toured with light opera companies in Asia, South America, and South Africa. On 16 May 1936, he made his debut at the

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 ...

as Escamillo in Bizet's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

''. He performed several more roles at the Met in 1936–37, including Alfio in ''

Cavalleria Rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; ) is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 Cavalleria rusticana (short story), short story of the same name and subsequent ...

'', Amonasro in ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'', and

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 d ...

in the world premiere of

Walter Damrosch Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a Prussian-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Aa ...

's ''

The Man Without a Country "The Man Without a Country" is a short story by American writer Edward Everett Hale, first published in ''The Atlantic'' in December 1863. It is the story of a young American officer who declares himself disgusted with his country during a ...

''. He also performed with opera companies in Chicago, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and St Louis. After retiring in 1945, Royer resided in Phoenix, Arizona, with his second wife, soprano Rosa Tentoni. His first marriage to soprano Elizabeth Amsden had ended previously in divorce. He died in Phoenix at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royer, Joseph 1884 births 1965 deaths Canadian operatic baritones Singers from Quebec Musicians from Quebec City Canadian expatriates in the United States 20th-century Canadian male opera singers