Xavier Depraz, ''né'' Xavier Marcel Delaruelle (22 April 1926 – 18 October 1994) was a French opera singer and actor.

Life

Born in Albert (

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

), Depraz was a

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

at the Paris Opéra until 1971. He took part in the premieres of operas by Marcel Landowski and Sergei Prokofiev. He also appeared as an actor, first on television, where he played the role of Ursus in ''The Man who laughs'' by , then on the big screen.

Career

Depraz entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1947 where he attended the classes of Fernand Francell for singing,

Louis Musy Louis Musy (22 October 1902, Algeria – 19 October 1981) was a French operatic baritone and stage director principally active at the Paris Opéra-Comique. His teacher was Léon David.Kutsch KJ, Riemens L. ''Großes Sängerlexikon''. Francke, Bern ...

for the stage and René Simon for theatre.

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, Paris, 1995 (p351). He participated in the premieres of several operas: Marcel Landowski's ''Le Rire de Nils Halerius'' (1951) and ''Le Fou'', Poulenc's '' Dialogues des Carmélites'' and, in concert version, Prokofiev's '' The Fiery Angel'' (1954). In the 1953 Paris premiere of '' The Rake's Progress'' at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

Depraz was "a splendid Nick Shadow". He also sang in Bartók's '' Bluebeard's Castle'', Verdi's '' Rigoletto'', Mozart's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) 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 Spanis ...

'', Massenet's '' Don Quichotte'' and '' Thaïs'' among others. For his appearance as Méphistophélès in Monte Carlo in 1959 one reviewer commented "Xavier Depraz, immensely tall, and surprisingly thin and angular for an operatic bass, produced a suitably resonant and cavernous voice, and histrionically was satisfyingly demonic". He also appeared at the French provincial opera houses, Glyndebourne and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, and was appointed a professor of opera at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1973. In 1971, he began a career as an actor in film and television. His recordings include '' Une éducation manquée'' (Pausanias), ''

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 performances in ...

'' (Nourabad), '' Romeo et Juliette'' (Frère Laurence), ''

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 Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' (Zuniga for

Beecham Beecham is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Audrey Beecham (1915–1989), poet and niece of the conductor * Betty Humby Beecham (1908–1958), British pianist and wife of the conductor * Earl Beecham (born 1965), American foo ...

and

Haitink Bernard Johan Herman Haitink (; 4 March 1929 – 21 October 2021) was a Dutch conductor and violinist. He was the principal conductor of several international orchestras, beginning with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1961. He moved to Lon ...

), '' Renard'', '' Dialogues des Carmélites'' (Le Marquis de la Force) and the Duruflé

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

.WorldCat results for Xavier Depraz
accessed 9 March 2019 Depraz died in Saint-Étienne-de-Saint-Geoirs (

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Une Éducation manquée'' conducted by

Charles Bruck Charles Bruck (2 May 1911 – 16 July 1995) was a French-American conductor and teacher. Bruck was born in a Jewish family in Temesvár, Banat, then in the Kingdom of Hungary, part of Austro-Hungarian Empire, since 1920 Timișoara in Roman ...

(Le Chant du Monde) *1953: Nourabad in Bizet's ''

'' conducted by Jean Fournet (Philips) *1954: Basile in excerpts from '' Le Barbier de Séville'' with the Opéra-Comique company under

Jules Gressier Jules Gressier, (24 June 1897, in Roubaix (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) – 27 June 1960, in Aix-les-Bains (Rhône-Alpes)L'Ange de Feu'' with the Paris Opera under Charles Bruck (Vega) *1958: Marquis de la Force in Poulenc's '' Dialogues des Carmélites'' conducted by Pierre Dervaux (Angel) *1958: Zuniga in ''

'' under Thomas Beecham (HMV) *1967: Mephistopheles in excerpts from '' Faust'' under

Jésus Etcheverry Jésus Etchéverry (14 November 1911 in Bordeaux – 12 January 1988 in Paris) was a French operatic conductor (music), conductor. He began studying the violin while still very young, and played with diverse small orchestras to pay for his tuition ...

(Vogue) *1968: Frère Laurence in '' Roméo et Juliette'' under Alain Lombard (EMI)

Filmography

Cinema

*1972: ''Le Droit d'aimer'' (by Éric Le Hung) *1973: ''

L'Emmerdeur ''L'emmerdeur'' (literally ''The Troublemaker'', with the English title of ''A Pain in the Ass'', often promoted as ''A Pain in the A__'') is a 1973 French-Italian black comedy film starring Jacques Brel, appearing in his tenth and final feature ...

'' (by Édouard Molinaro) – Louis Randoni *1973: '' I Don't Know Much, But I'll Say Everything'' (by Pierre Richard) – General Deglane *1974: '' Black Thursday'' ''(Les Guichets du Louvre)'' (by Michel Mitrani) *1975: ''

Cher Victor ''Cher Victor'' (french: Ce cher Victor) is a 1975 French comedy film directed by Robin Davis. It was entered into the 1975 Cannes Film Festival. Plot Victor and Anselme are two aged men who are cohabitants for practical reasons. The widower Vi ...

'' (by Robin Davis) *1976: '' Dracula and Son'' ''(Dracula père et fils)'' (by Édouard Molinaro) – Le majordome *1976: '' Le Gang'' (by Jacques Deray) – Jo *1977: '' Death of a Corrupt Man'' ''(Mort d'un pourri)'' (by Georges Lautner) – Marcel *1978: '' Butterfly on the Shoulder'' ''(Un papillon sur l'épaule)'' (by Jacques Deray) – Miguel Carrabo *1978: '' The Brontë Sisters'' (by

André Téchiné André Téchiné (; born 13 March 1943) is a French screenwriter and film director. He has a long and distinguished career that places him among the most accomplished post- New Wave French film directors. Téchiné belongs to a second generation ...

) – Monsieur Hager *1981: '' For a Cop's Hide'' (''Pour la peau d'un flic'') (by

Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; born 8 November 1935) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was one of Europe's most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for h ...

) – Kasper *1985: ''Carmen'' with Glyndebourne Opera conducted by Bernard Haitink – Zuniga.

Television

*1968: '' Le Bourgeois gentilhomme'' (TV Movie, by Pierre Badel) – le Grand Turc *1970: ''L'élixir du R.P. Gaucher'' (by Pierre Badel) – le prieur à la voix de ténor *1971: '' L'Homme qui rit'' (by Jean Kerchbron) – Ursus *1972: '' Mauprat'' (by Jacques Trébouta) – Marcasse / Narcisse *1972: ''The Accursed Kings'' (by Claude Barma) – Jacques de Molay *1973: '' Vogue la galère'' (TV Movie, by Raymond Rouleau) – Comité *1974: ''Beau-François'' (by Roger Kahane) – Pingre #9 *1982: ''Le Voyageur imprudent'' (by Pierre Tchernia) – Méphisto *1984: ''Les Enquêtes du commissaire Maigret'' (Episode: "Maigret à Vichy", by Alain Levent) – Le commissaire Lecoeur *1991: ''Marie Curie, une femme honorable'' (by

Michel Boisrond Michel Jacques Boisrond (9 October 1921, Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais – 10 November 2002, La Celle-Saint-Cloud) was a French film director and screenwriter. His work spanned five decades, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Career A former apprentice ...

) – Anatole France (final appearance)

Cartoons

*1978: '' La Ballade des Dalton'' (by René Goscinny and Morris) – The cowboy who dodges the train (voice)

Theatre

* 1974: ''Les Aventures de Tom Jones'' by Jean Marsan and after Henry Fielding, directed by René Clermont, Théâtre de Paris