Michel Sénéchal
Acting
Michel SĂ©nĂ©chal (11 February 1927 â 1 April 2018) was a French tenor, particularly associated with French and Italian character roles in a repertory ranging from Baroque to contemporary works. Michel SĂ©nĂ©chal was born in Paris and sang as a child in a church choir in Taverny. He made his vocal studies at the Paris Conservatory, and made his debut at La Monnaie in Brussels in 1950, where he would remain until 1952. Upon his return in France he made his debut in Paris, at the Paris OpĂ©ra and the OpĂ©ra-Comique, where he sang the lead tenor roles in opera such as La dame blanche, Les Indes galantes, Il matrimonio segreto, The Barber of Seville, Le comte Ory, etc. He sang at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in Rameau's PlatĂ©e for his debut there in 1956. He also appeared at the Vienna State Opera, the festivals of Salzburg and Glyndebourne, in Mozart roles such as Ottavio and Tamino. SĂ©nĂ©chal also appeared regularly in operettas, especially by Offenbach, such as OrphĂ©e aux enfers, La Vie parisienne, La PĂ©richole, where his comic talent was shown to fine effect. As the years went by SĂ©nĂ©chal started concentrating on character roles such as Basilio in Nozze di Figaro, Goro in Madama Butterfly, the Holy Fool in Boris Godunov, Monsieur Triquet in Eugene Onegin, Guillot de Morfontaine in Manon, and the four servants in Les contes d'Hoffmann, which were his debut roles at the Metropolitan Opera on 8 March 1982. SĂ©nĂ©chal took part in the creation of contemporary works such as the roles of Fabien in Marcel Landowski's MontsĂ©gur and Pope Leo X in Konrad Boehmer's Doctor Faustus. He remained active on stage until late in life, appearing in performance into the early years of the 21st century. He began teaching at "L'Ăcole d'art lyrique" of the Paris OpĂ©ra in 1979, and was eventually named director of the school. He can be heard in several recordings, notably in La dame blanche, Mireille, and Thais, made in his prime, in the early 1960s. Michel SĂ©nĂ©chal died in Eaubonne on 1 April 2018, aged 91. Source: Article "Michel SĂ©nĂ©chal" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
