Robert Savoie, (April 21, 1927 – September 14, 2007) was a

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

operatic

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 ...

Career

Savoie was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. He studied for five years with

Pauline Donalda Pauline Donalda , born Pauline Lightstone, (March 5, 1882 – October 22, 1970) was a Canadian operatic soprano. Early life and education Donalda was born Pauline Lightstone in Montreal, Quebec, the daughter of Jewish parents who changed their ...

, and made his debut in 1948 with the Montreal Opera Guild, as the second Philistine in ''

Samson et Dalila ''Samson and Delilah'' (), Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. It was first performed in Weimar at the (Grand Ducal) Theater (now the Staatskapelle Weimar) on 2 ...

''. For the next four years he sang secondary roles with that company. He then studied in Milan, Italy, with Antonio Narducci, and made his European debut there at the Teatro Nuovo, as Scarpia in ''

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 ...

''. After returning to Montréal in 1954, Savoie pursued a career on radio and television, as well as with the Opera Guild, singing roles such as; Rodrigo in ''Don Carlos'', Figaro in ''Le nozze di Figaro'' and ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'', Leporello in ''Don Giovanni'', Marcello in ''La bohème'', Sharpless in ''Madama Butterfly'', etc. He also appeared in Québec City, Ottawa, and at the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shak ...

. In 1961, Savoie signed a five-year contract with 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 ...

in London, making his debut there as Schaunard in ''La Bohème'', and then singing the title role in ''

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 ...

''. He also appeared with the

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

and the

Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish Op ...

in Glasgow. He also performed throughout France, in a touring production of

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 ''

Don Quichotte ''Don Quichotte'' (''Don Quixote'') is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn. It was first performed on 19 February 1910 at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Massenet's ''comédie héroïque'', like many dramatiz ...

'', opposite fellow countryman,

Joseph Rouleau Joseph A. Rouleau, (February 28, 1929 – July 12, 2019) was a French Canadian Bass (voice type), bass opera singer, particularly associated with the Italian and French repertoires. Life and career Born in Matane, Quebec, he studied privately w ...

. He sang in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

production of

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

's original French version of ''

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 ...

'' (recorded 1972, broadcast 1973) with Rouleau, and

André Turp André Turp (December 21, 1925, Montreal – February 25, 1991, Montreal) was a Canadian tenor, particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories. Life and career André Turp took private voice lessons with Édouard Woolley and Fra ...

. In America, Savoie appeared in 1971, as ''

Falstaff (opera) ''Falstaff'' () is a comic opera in three acts by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Arrigo Boito from the play ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' and scenes from ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and ''H ...

'' at the inauguration of the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in Washington. He performed in 1972, in ''

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 ' ...

'', at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. Beginning in 1981, Savoie performed mainly in recital, and began giving master classes, notably at the

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joi ...

. He was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 2002. He died in Montreal.

Sources

* ''The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada'', Cécile Huot, Sarah Church

External links

Robert Savoie

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savoie, Robert 1927 births 2007 deaths Officers of the Order of Canada Canadian operatic baritones 20th-century Canadian male opera singers Singers from Montreal