Émile-Alexandre Taskin
Émile-Alexandre Taskin (born March 18, 1853 in Paris , † October 5, 1897 ibid) was a French opera singer (baritone) of the Opéra-Comique .
Life
Emile-Alexandre Taskin was a grandson of the organist and composer Henri-Joseph Taskin (1779-1852), a great-grandson of Pascal-Joseph Taskin (1750-1829), the administrator of the royal instrument fund, a great-great-grandson of the instrument maker Pascal-Joseph Taskin (1723–1793) and a descendant of the great French family of musicians Couperin .
At the age of nine he sang in the boys' choir of the parish church of Saint-Roch , later in the choir of the church of Ste. Madeleine. He was noticed by his clear voice and was accepted as a student at the Conservatoire de Paris . His teachers included Jules Laurent Duprato , Romain Bussine and the famous tenor Charles Ponchard . At the age of 20 and 21 respectively, Taskin passed his final exams with success.
In the following year Taskin made his debut as a solo singer in the oratorio “ L'enfance du Christ ” ( Hector Berlioz ). Also in 1875 (September) Taskin made his stage debut at the Amiens Municipal Theater as "Roland" in the opera Les musquetaires de la Reine ( Jacques Fromental Halévy ). As a result, he got engagements at the theaters of Geneva and Lille ; his most important roles during this period were "Capitaine Fracasse" in the opera of the same name ( Théophile Gautier ) and "Romeo" in Amants de Vérone ( Charles d'Ivry ).
His career, which had previously taken him through the French provinces, brought Taskin an engagement at the Théatre Ventadour in Paris in 1878 and the following year he was hired at the Opéra-Comique de Paris . There he made his debut with “Malipieri” from the opera Haydée ou le secrét ( Daniel-François-Esprit Auber ). Until 1897 he was a member of the ensemble of this house and was able to celebrate one of his greatest successes as "Tambour Major" in the opera Le Caïd ( Ambroise Thomas ).
Taskin also participated in numerous premieres at the Opéra-Comique; Among other things, he sang on March 8, 1880 in the world premiere of the opera Jean de Nivelles ( Léo Delibes ) the "Charolais", on February 18, 1881 in the " Hoffmanns Erzählungen " ( Jacques Offenbach ) in the original two-act version of the opera demonic games of "Copelius" and "Doctor Miracle".
On January 19, 1884 he took part in the world premiere of Manon ( Jules Massenet ) as "Lescaut"; on March 16, 1887 in that of Proserpine ( Camille Saint-Saëns ); on May 15, 1889 he played "Phorcas" in the same house in the world premiere of the opera Esclarmonde (Jules Massenet).
The Academy of Sciences in Paris accepted Taskin as a member in 1885.
He became very popular when his prudence saved the lives of many viewers in the great fire of the Opéra-Comique on May 25, 1887 during a performance of the opera Mignon (Ambroise Thomas). For this, Prime Minister Maurice Rouvier honored him with the medal de sauvetage de ire classe.
From May 1, 1891, he worked as a professor at the Conservatoire de Paris and also taught privately from 1894.
On May 13, 1894, he sang “Lothario” in the 1000th Mignon performance at the Opéra-Comique. His powerful, expressive baritone voice was admired on the stage and in the concert hall in an extensive repertoire.
He was married to the singer Sophie Louise Champion (born March 26, 1851 in Lagny, † December 1901 in Paris), who had made her debut in 1874. He had three children with her; Berthe Arlette Taskin (born September 16, 1880) performed as a concert alto and as a lieder singer. She married the French Romantic composer Louis Vierne in 1899 . The other two children Marcel and Germaine were not known musically.
Émile-Alexandre Taskin died on October 5, 1897 at the age of 44 in his Parisian house at 159 rue de Rome and was after the funeral in the church of Ste-Marie des Batignolles in the Parisian cemetery of Saint-Ouen near Paris in Buried grave of his parents.
literature
- Karl-Josef Kutsch , Leo Riemens : Large singer lexicon . 3. Edition. deGruyter Saur, Berlin 2000, p. 23925 ff
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Taskin, Émile-Alexandre |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French opera singer (baritone) of the Opéra-Comique |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 18, 1853 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Paris |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 5, 1897 |
| Place of death | Paris |