Carvalho, Léon |
IMPRESARIO, STAGE DIRECTOR, SINGER (FRANCE) |
BORN 18 Jan 1825, Port Louis, île Maurice - DIED 29 Dec 1897, Paris: 11 rue Volney BIRTH NAME Carvaille, Arthur Léon GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Père Lachaise, Rue du Repos 16 (division 65, ligne 01, Y, 3) |
Léon Carvalho was born on Mauritius, as the natural son of Arthur Joseph Rondeaux de Courcy (1800-1884) and Anne Marie Henriette Laure Carvalho (1807-1834). Léon came to France as a young boy. He studied at the Conservatory in Paris and was engaged as a bariton at the Opéra-Comique from 1850 to 1855. There he met the soprano Marie Caroline Miolan and he married her in 1853. In 1856 he took over the management of the Théâtre Lyrique where he staged works by Beethoven, Mozart and Rossini, but als by French composer like Berlioz, Gounod and Bizet. Early in 1868 he also became the manager of the Théâtre de la Renaissance, but he went bankrupt in May 1868 and he lost both his positions. He returned as the manager of the Théâtre du Vaudeville and in 1876 he became the director of the Opéra-Comique. In 1884 he wanted to stage Wagner's "Lohengrin" and he visited Vienna to study a production that was staged there. After attacks in the press he abandoned the project in 1886. In 1887 a fire at the Salle Favart killed 84 people. He was held responsible and imprisoned. After an appeal he was acquitted and in 1891 and he returned to his position. In 1897 he died in Paris. Family Wife: Carvalho-Miolan, Caroline (1853-1895) Related persons employed Réty, Charles Events |
5/5/1860 | Pauline Viardot-Garcia sings in Beethoven's "Fidelio" in Paris. It was staged by Carvalho, who had changed the story. She sang the part of Leonore but she had difficulties with the high notes and was criticised for her performance. After eleven performances the opera was cancelled. [Viardot-Garcia, Pauline] |
Images |
Sources Léon Carvalho - Wikipedia |