Jules Bastin (18 August 1933, Brussels – 2 December 1996, Waterloo) was a Belgian operatic bass who excelled in both serious and comic roles, and left several recordings.

Life and career

Born in , he was briefly a teacher of German, French and history before vocal studies in Brussels led to a professional singing career. He won prizes at singing competitions in Verviers, Toulouse, 's-Hertogenbosch and Munich.Pâris, Alain. ''Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l'interprétation musicale au XXe (French).'' Paris: Éditions Robert Laffont. 2004, p211. Bastin made his debut in 1960 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 ...

, singing Caronte in ''

L'Orfeo ''L'Orfeo'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 318) (), or ''La favola d'Orfeo'' , is a late Renaissance music, Renaissance/early Baroque music, Baroque ''favola in musica'', or List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi, opera, by Claudio Monteverdi, with a li ...

''.Blyth, Alan. Obituary - Jules Bastin. ''

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 ...

'', February 1997, Vol 48 No 2, p164-165. He appeared at major opera houses throughout Europe, including the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

, and the

Palais Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...

; he also sang at festivals in Salzburg, Edinburgh, Aix-en-Provence and Florence, and in America at Buenos Aires, Philadelphia and Toronto. He was known for playing roles from a variety of operatic traditions, from

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considere ...

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

, but he was perhaps most famous for singing the Baron Ochs in

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

's ''

Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from Louvet de Couvrai's novel ''Les amours du cheva ...

''; his "fine, full-toned voice, presence and gift for comedy make him a superb Ochs". Forbes, Elizabeth. Jules Bastin. In: ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

'', Macmillan, London & New York, 1997, p347. In buffo style roles he sang Mozart's Osmin and Don Alfonso, Rossini's Dr Bartolo and Donizetti's as Sulpice, which "exploited his gifts as a buffo bass", as well as recording several Offenbach operettas. In 1979 he took place in the premiere of the three-act version of ''

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

'' in Paris as the Theatre Director. In Verdi opera he portrayed Ramfis and the Grand Inquisitor, both "exploiting his resonant delivery and exemplary diction". ''The New York Times'' reported: "Mr. Bastin sang the starring bass roles in Verdi's ''Don Carlo'' and in operas by Mozart, Wagner and other composers. Although best known for his sensitive interpretation of works in French and Italian, his favorite role was that of Baron Ochs in ''Der Rosenkavalier''". The obituary in Opera noted he was "accomplished as an actor and as a singer, he excelled in roles calling for display of character". After becoming successful in opera, he continued to teach music at the Royal Music Conservatory in Brussels. Bastin left a range of recordings representative of his repertoire, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France site lists several video recordings with him in, '' Les Trois Souhaits ou Les vicissitudes de la vie'' from Lyon (the captain, 1991), '' L'étoile'' (Siroco, 1986), and

L'amour des trois oranges ', Op. 33, is a 1921 satirical French-language opera by Sergei Prokofiev. He wrote his own libretto, basing it on the Italian play '' L'amore delle tre melarance'', or ''The Love for Three Oranges'' ( ''Lyubov k tryom apyelsinam'') by Carlo Gozz ...

(female chef, 1989).Activities of Jules Bastin (1933-1996) (57 resources in data.bnf.fr)
accessed 5 May 2023.

Selected discography

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'' ...

: ''

Benvenuto Cellini Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...

'' (Balducci) conducted by Colin Davis, Philips 1972 * Berlioz: ''

La Damnation de Faust ''La Damnation de Faust'' (English: ''The Damnation of Faust''), Op. 24 is a French musical composition for four solo voices, full seven-part chorus, large children's chorus and orchestra by the French composer Hector Berlioz. He called it a ' ...

'' (Méphistophélès) conducted by Colin Davis, Philips, 1973, and by

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Moses Barenboim (; born 15 November 1942) is an Argentines, Argentine-Israeli classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin, who also has Spain, Spanish and State of Palestine, Palestinian citizenship. From 1992 until January 2023, Bare ...

, DG, 1979 *

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 ...

''Cendrillon'' (Pandolphe) conducted by Julius Rudel, CBS, 1978 *

Strauss Strauss, Strauß, or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is usually spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" most com ...

''Der Rosenkavalier'' (Baron Ochs) conducted by Edo de Waart, recorded by Philips in 1976 *

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

''Così fan tutte'' (Alfonso) conducted by Alain Lombard, Erato 1977 *

''Le nozze di Figaro'' (Bartolo) conducted by Herbert von Karajan, Decca, recorded 1978 * Berlioz: ''

Romeo et Juliette Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...

'' (Père Laurence) conducted by Daniel Barenboim, DG, 1980 * Mélodies Françaises (with Paule Van den Driessche, piano) - '' L'horizon chimérique'' by Fauré, Quatre Poèmes d’après l’« Intermezzo » de Henri Heine by Ropartz, Chansons de Don Quichotte by Ibert, Huit Anecdotes de Chamfort by Françaix, '' Chansons gaillardes'' by Poulenc and ''

Don Quichotte à Dulcinée ''Don Quichotte à Dulcinée'' is a song cycle by Maurice Ravel based on the story of ''Don Quixote''. It was first composed for voice and piano but later orchestrated. The songs are traditionally performed by a baritone or bass(-baritone). The ...

'' by Ravel - Pavane Records 1980 *

Charpentier Charpentier () is the French language, French word for "carpenter", and it is also a French surname; a variant spelling is Carpentier. In English, the equivalent word and name is "Carpenter (surname), Carpenter"; in German, "Zimmermann (disambigua ...

: ''Mors Saülis et Jonathae'' H.403, conducted by Louis Devos, Erato, 1981 * He took part in several Grétry opera recordings: ''

La Caravane du Caire ''La Caravane du Caire'' is an opera or opéra-ballet in three acts by André Grétry, set to a libretto by Étienne Morel de Chédeville. Tradition has it that either the libretto was partially writtenCharlton. or the idea of it was allegedly sug ...

'' (1991), '' Le Judgement de Midas'' (1989), ''

L'amant jaloux ''The Lover'' (French: ''L'Amant'') is an autobiographical novel by Marguerite Duras, published in 1984 by Les Éditions de Minuit. It has been translated into 43 languages and was awarded the 1984 Prix Goncourt. It was adapted to film in 1992 as ...

'' (1977) and Richard Coeur-de-Lion (1977)

References

*
Biografie
in ''Cent Wallons du siècle'', Institut Jules Destrée, Charleroi, 1995 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bastin, Jules 1933 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Belgian male opera singers Operatic basses