Renaud, Maurice

1862-

 

Celebrated French basso; born at Bordeaux; studied at the Paris Conservatory; sang in the Royal Opera at Brussels from 1883 to 1890; was next engaged at the Opera Comique, Paris, for a season, then at the Grand Opera for five years, and since then has had much success on Italian stages. His repertory is an extensive one, embracing bass and barytone roles in more than fifty operas, both tragic and comic; among these may be named Wilhelm Tell; Escamillo in Carmen; Telramund, and Fernando in Fidelio. His forte is the impersonation of the principal characters in the French versions of Wagner's operas. In this capacity he appeared in several first performances of the kind in Paris, and elicited highly favorable comment from visiting English and German critics. He was awarded the order of the Crown in 1907 by the German Emperor for his singing in several different operas at the Imperial Opera.