Lorenzo Pagans

Lorenzo Pagans, unknown photographer, around 1860/1870

Lorenzo Pagans ( Catalan Llorenç Pagans i Julià ) (born December 15, 1833 in Cervià de Ter , Girona province , Catalonia ; † July 7, 1883 in Paris , France ) was a Spanish ( Catalan ) tenor , musician and composer .

Life

Lorenzo Pagans was born as Llorenç Pagans i Julià in 1838 in Cervià de Ter to Pere Pagans and Maria Julià. In 1841, at the age of eight, he sang in the choir (Capella de Musica) of the Cathedral of Santa Maria in Girona . The director of the choir, Josep Barba, encouraged Pagans' musical talent and took him to Barcelona in 1846, where he received his musical training. In 1849, at the age of sixteen, he became organist in the Church of Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona . In 1852 he sang as a baritone in the opera Poliuto by Gaetano Donizetti in Maó , Menorca .

At the age of 20, he moved to Paris in 1853, where he spent most of his life and was known as Lorenzo Pagans. He made his debut as a tenor in the Théâtre-Italy and was soon one of the most successful singers in the Parisian opera world. At the Paris Opera he first appeared in 1860 in the role of Idreno in the opera Semiramide by Gioachino Rossini . He also played in this piece in 1863 during a tour in Barcelona. In the local Gran Teatre del Liceu he also sang the role of Ernesto in Donizetti's opera Don Pasquale . Another stop on this tour was the Teatro Real opera house in Madrid. Back in Paris he appeared in numerous operas, including works by Georg Friedrich Händel and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . As a pianist and guitarist, Pagans played pieces by Charles Gounod , Jules Massenet and Camille Saint-Saëns in the Salle Pleyel concert hall in Paris and in the Salons in Paris . Pagans also composed some songs.

One of the hosts who invited Pagans to concerts in their salons was Mathilde Bonaparte , who invited the musician to her castle in Saint-Gratien (Val-d'Oise) . Another host was the banker Auguste de Gas, who regularly received friends for house concerts. His son, the painter Edgar Degas , created several portraits of Lorenzo Pagans, including the painting Lorenzo Pagans and Auguste de Gas ( Musée d'Orsay , Paris) from around 1871–1872 . The musician was also a guest in the Manet house. Suzanne Manet , wife of the painter Édouard Manet , was herself a pianist and also invited to her salon once a week. In 1879 Edouard Manet painted the small-format portrait of Monsieur Pagans .

• 

  Edgar Degas: Lorenzo Pagans and Auguste de Gas , around 1870–1871

• 

  Édouard Manet: Portrait of Monsieur Pagans , 1879

• 

  Pagan's grave in Paris with a bust of the musician

After Pagans retired from the stage in the 1870s, he worked as a music teacher and gave singing lessons. His students included Elisa Volpini , Elena Sanz , Marie Belval and Jeanne Granier . On May 26, 1883, he married Flora Adelfina Peton. Just a few weeks later, Lorenzo Pagans died on July 7th in Paris. He found his final resting place on the Paris Cimetière des Batignolles .

literature

• Melissa McQuilla: Portrait Painting of the French Impressionists . Rosenheimer Verlagshaus, Rosenheim 1986, ISBN 3-475-52508-9 .
• Ajuntament de Cervià de Ter (ed.): Paraules al Vent . No. 36, 1983. Biography of Lorenzo Pagans on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his death. online (catalan)
• Vicente García de la Puerta López: Lorenzo Pagans, el cantante español de los salones de París . Edarcon, Madrid 2003, ISBN 978-84-85451-17-3 .

Web links

Commons : Lorenzo Pagans  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files