René Massis is a French contemporary

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 ...

Biography

Born in Lyon, Massis studied singing and lyrical art at the

Conservatoire national supérieur musique et danse de Lyon A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

, in addition to his university studies (modern letters) at the Faculty of Lyon and won his prizes in 1968. He then travelled to Italy to Milan where he spent seven years perfecting his technique and studying the Italian repertoire. Over the course of his career, he has performed an extensive repertoire, invited by the following theatres and concert companies : Opéra de Marseille, Opéra de Nice, Opéra national de Paris, Opéra-Comique de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées de Paris, Radio-France, Opéra de Lyon, Opéra du Rhin (Strasbourg), Opéra de Nancy, Opéra de Lille, Opéra de Nantes, Théâtre des Arts de Rouen, Opéra de Metz, Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse, Opéra de Montpellier, Festival de Radio-France and Montpellier, Opéra d’Avignon, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Opéra de Lausanne, Opéra de Francfort, Festival de Glyndebourne, The Scottish Opera (Glasgow Edinburgh), BBC Birmingham, Le Concertgebouw dof Amsterdam, L’Opéra des Flandres Antwerps,

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 ...

of Milan, the Teatro Donizetti di Bergamo, Le Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, L’Opera di Roma, La RAI di Napoli, the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, the Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari, LA RAI di Torino, Le Palau de la Musica de Barcelone, LA TVE Madrid, ABAO of Bilbao, Le Teatro de Santiago de Chile… After stopping his singing career, René Massis was artistic delegate to the

Opéra national de Lyon The Opéra National de Lyon (), marketed as Opéra de Lyon during the last decade, is an opera company in Lyon, based and performing mostly at the Opéra Nouvel, an 1831 theater that was modernized and architecturally transformed in 1993. Histo ...

(Director General Alain Durel) for five years. Since 2006, he has been head of the artistic agency "Agence Massis Opéra".

Distinctions

In 1986, René Massis was made a chevalier in the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

Repertoire

Opera

* Adam's ''

Le postillon de Lonjumeau (''The Postillion of Lonjumeau'') is an opéra-comique in three acts by Adolphe Adam to a French libretto by Adolphe de Leuven and Léon Lévy Brunswick. The opera has become the most successful of Adam's works, and the one by which (apart from ...

'' (Bijou) * Auber's ''

Manon Lescaut ''The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut'' ( ) is a novel by Antoine François Prévost. It tells a tragic love story about a nobleman (known only as the Chevalier des Grieux) and a common woman (Manon Lescaut). Their decisio ...

'' (Marquis d’Hérigny) * Barraud's ''Numance'' (Scipion) * Berg's ''

Wozzeck ''Wozzeck'' () is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. Composed between 1914 and 1922, it premiered in 1925. It is based on the drama '' Woyzeck'', which German playwright Georg Büchner left incomplete at his death. Berg attende ...

'' * Berlioz's ''

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 ...

'' (Fieramosca), ''

Béatrice et Bénédict ''Béatrice et Bénédict'' (''Beatrice and Benedick'') is an ''opéra comique'' in two acts by French composer Hector Berlioz. Berlioz wrote the French libretto himself, based in general outline on a subplot in Shakespeare's ''Much Ado About Noth ...

'' (Claudio) * Bizet's ''

Les Pêcheurs de perles ' (, ''The Pearl Fishers'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performan ...

'' (Zurga), ''

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 ...

'' (Escamillo) *

Catalani Catalani is an Italian surname meaning " Catalan" or "from Catalonia". Notable people with the surname include: * Adelina Catalani (fl. 1818–1832), Franco-Italian soprano *Alfredo Catalani Alfredo Catalani (19 June 1854 – 7 August 1893) wa ...

's ''Dejanice'' (Dardano) * Chausson's ''

Le Roi Arthus ''Le roi Arthus'' (''King Arthur'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Ernest Chausson to his own libretto. It was composed between 1886 and 1895, and first performed 30 November 1903 at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels, afte ...

'' (Mordred) * Cherubini's ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of Aeëtes, King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "wiktionary:φαρμακεία, pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high- ...

'' (Creonte) * Cilea's ''

Adriana Lecouvreur ''Adriana Lecouvreur'' () is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the 1849 play '' Adrienne Lecouvreur'' by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé. It was first performed on 6 November 1902 ...

'' (Michonnet) * Cimarosa's ''

Il matrimonio segreto ' (''The Secret Marriage'') is a dramma giocoso in two acts, music by Domenico Cimarosa, on a libretto by Giovanni Bertati, based on the 1766 play '' The Clandestine Marriage'' by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick. It was first performed ...

'' (Robinson) * Dallapiccola's ''

Volo di notte ''Volo di notte'' (''Night Flight'') is a one-act opera composed by Luigi Dallapiccola to an Italian libretto he wrote based on the novel '' Vol de nuit'' by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first performed at the Teatro della Pergola in Flore ...

'' (Rivière) * Delibes' ''

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 ...

'' (Moncontour) * Donizetti's ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

'' (Enrico), ''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (; ''The Elixir of Love'') is a (comic melodrama, opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's (1831). ...

'' (Bercore), ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is a Gaetano Donizetti opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts, with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's oper ...

'' (Malatesta), ''

La Favorite ''La favorite'' (''The Favourite'', frequently referred to by its Italian title: ''La favorita'') is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play ''Le com ...

'' (Alphonse), ''

La Fille du régiment LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

'' (Sulpice) * Giordano's ''

Andrea Chenier Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that ref ...

'' (Carlo Gérard) * Gluck's ''

Iphigénie en Aulide ''Iphigénie en Aulide'' (''Iphigeneia in Aulis (ancient Greece), Aulis'') is an opera in three acts by Christoph Willibald Gluck, the first work he wrote for the Paris stage. The libretto was written by François-Louis Gand Le Bland Du Roullet ...

'' (Thoas), ''Alceste'' (Hercules) * Gounod's ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'' (Valentin) * Leoncavallo's ''

I Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

'' (Silvio–Tonio) * Magnard's ''Bérénice'' (Titus) * Massenet's ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was f ...

'' (Lescaut), '' Griselidis'' (Le Marquis), ''

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''The S ...

'' (Albert) * Méhul's ''

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

'' (Simeon) * Mussorgski's ''

Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...

'' (Tchelkalov), ''

Khovanshchina ''Khovanshchina'' ( rus, Хованщина, , xɐˈvanʲɕːɪnə, Ru-Khovanshchina_version.ogg, sometimes rendered ''The Khovansky Affair'') is an opera (subtitled a 'national music drama') in five acts by Modest Mussorgsky. The work was writte ...

'' (Chaklovity) * Mozart's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'', ''

Le Nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna ...

'' (Conte), ''

Cosi fan Tutte COSI (), officially the Center of Science and Industry, is a science museum and research center in Columbus, Ohio. COSI was opened to the public on 29 March 1964 and remained there for 35 years. In 1999, COSI was moved to a facility, designed ...

'' (Gugliemo) * Offenbach's '' Barbe-Bleue'' (Popolani) * Poulencs ''

Dialogues des Carmélites ' (, ''Dialogues of the Carmelites''), FP 159, is an opera in three acts, divided into twelve scenes with linking orchestral interludes, with music and libretto by Francis Poulenc, completed in 1956. Poulenc wrote the libretto for his second o ...

'' (Le Marquis), ''

Les Mamelles de Tirésias LES or Les may refer to: People * Les (given name) * Les (surname) * L.E.S. (producer), hip hop producer Space flight * Launch Entry Suit, worn by Space Shuttle crews * Launch escape system, for spacecraft emergencies * Lincoln Experimental ...

'' (Prologue) * Piccinni's ''

Iphigénie en Tauride ''Iphigénie en Tauride'' (, ''Iphigenia in Tauris'') is a 1779 opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck in four acts. It was his fifth opera for the French stage. The libretto was written by Nicolas-François Guillard. With ''Iphigénie,'' Gluck too ...

'' (Oreste) * Puccini's ''

La Boheme LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

'' (Marcello), ''

Madame Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lut ...

'' (Sharpless), ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'' (Scarpia) * Ravel's ''

L'Heure espagnole ''L'heure espagnole'' is a French one-act opera from 1911, described as a ''comédie musicale'', with music by Maurice Ravel to a French libretto by Franc-Nohain, based on Franc-Nohain's 1904 play ('comédie-bouffe') of the same name The opera, s ...

'' (Ramiro, Don Inigo), ''

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 ...

'' (Le Chat / L’Horloge) * Respighi's ''

Semiramide ''Semiramide'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy ''Sémiramis (tragedy), Semiramis'', which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Assyria. The opera was first ...

'' (Falasar) * Rossini's ''

Il Barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy '' ...

'' (Figaro) * Salieri's ''

Les Danaïdes ''Les Danaïdes'' is an opera by Antonio Salieri, in five acts: more specifically, it is a ''tragédie lyrique''. The opera was set to a libretto by François-Louis Gand Le Bland Du Roullet and Louis-Théodore de Tschudi, who in turn adapted the ...

'' (Danaüs) * Tchaïkovski's ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (, Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: Евгеній Онѣгинъ, романъ въ стихахъ, ) is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin. ''Onegin'' is considered a classic of ...

'' * Verdi's '' La Traviata'' (Germont), ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

'' (Posa), '' Un Ballo in Maschera'' (Renato), ''

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 ...

'' (Ford), '' Il Trovatore'' (Luna), ''

Simon Boccanegra ''Simon Boccanegra'' () is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play ''Simón Bocanegra'' (1843) by Antonio García Gutiérrez, whose play ''El trovador'' had bee ...

'' (Simon – Paolo), ''

I Vespri Siciliani ''I vespri siciliani'' (; "The Sicilian Vespers") is a five-act Italian opera originally written in French for the Paris Opéra by the Italian romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi and translated into Italian shortly after its premiere in June 1855. ...

'' (Monforte), ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'', ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...

'' (Iago), ''

Ernani ''Ernani'' is an operatic ''dramma lirico'' in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the 1830 play ''Hernani (drama), Hernani'' by Victor Hugo. Verdi was commissioned by the Teatro La Fenice in Ve ...

'' (Don Carlo) * Wagner's ''

Rienzi ' (''Rienzi, the last of the tribunes''; WWV 49) is an 1842 opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name (1835). The title is commonly shortened to ''Rienzi' ...

'' (Orsini)

Concert

* Beethoven's '' Symphony 9'' *

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, '' Carmen'', which has become ...

's ''Clovis et Clothilde'' (cantata) * Duruflé's ''

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

'' * Dvořák, ''Te Deum'' * Fauré's ''

'' * Orff's ''

Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreveren ...

Recordings

Audio

* Aubert, ''

'' - Marquis d'Hérigny. * Bellini's ''

La straniera ''La straniera'' (''The Foreign Woman'') is an opera in two acts with music by Vincenzo Bellini to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on the novel ''L'Étrangère'' (2 vols, 1825) by Charles-Victor Prévot, vicomte d'Arlincourt, althoug ...

'' - Valdeburgo. * Catalani's ''Dejanice'' - Dàrdano.(CD BONG 06.09.1985 m. C. Basto, M-L. Garbato, O. Garaventa, C. Zardo; Dir.: J. Latham-König - Lucca SO) * Chapentier's '' Louise'' - 1.cop, 2.philosopher. * Chausson's ''

Le roi Arthus ''Le roi Arthus'' (''King Arthur'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Ernest Chausson to his own libretto. It was composed between 1886 and 1895, and first performed 30 November 1903 at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels, afte ...

'' - Mordred. * Donizetti's ''

'' - Alphonse XI. * Gluck's ''

'' - Thoas. * Halévy's ''

La Juive ''La Juive'' (, ) is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra National de Paris, Opéra de Paris, on 23 February 1835. Composition history ''La Juive'' ...

'' - Ruggiero. * Massenet's ''

'' - Albert. * Méhul's ''

'' - Siméon. * Piccinni's ''

'' - Oreste. * Respighi's '' Semirâma'' - Falasar.

Videos

* Adam's ''

'' - Bijou. * Auber's ''

'' - Marquis d'Hérigny. * Donizetti's ''

'' - Alphonse XI. * Méhul's ''

'' - Siméon.(LD CHNT 1989 m. B.Lafon, F.Vassar, L.Dale, P.Jorquera; Dir.: C.Bardon - Sinf. Orch)

References

External links

René Massis - Magnard - Bérénice - Air de Titus
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Massis, Rene 20th-century French male opera singers French operatic baritones Musicians from Lyon 1947 births Living people Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres