This artist, whose real name was Georges Tournez, first pursued a number of
different careers including one as soloist in a men's choir. He entered a
singing contest run by Thomas Salignac in 1935 and won first prize. This led to
an immediate engagement at the Grand Opéra Paris. At first he sang small
parts there, but then he moved on to roles like Jacquino in Fidelio and
Nicias in Thais. He received his big break in 1938 when he substituted
for an ailing Georges Thill as Gounod's Faust and had an enormous success. After
1942, he made appearances at both of Paris's big houses. For the Opéra-Comique
Paris, he sang Alfredo in La Traviata, Gérald in Lakmé,
Werther, Cavaradossi and Pinkerton amongst other parts. He continued
appearing at these houses until 1956. At the same time, he also triumphed at the
numerous opera houses in the French provinces. Faust and Werther proved to be
his signature roles. He also made guest appearances in Belgium, Holland,
Switzerland, Italy, London, and the Monte Carlo Opera (1947). His farewell to
the stage took place in 1960.
His repertory included Mylio in Lalo's Le
Roi d'Ys, the title role in Berlioz's Damnation de Faust, Laërte
in Thomas' Hamlet, Gentz in Honegger-Ibert
L'Aiglon, Gonzalve in Ravel's L'Heure espagnole, Hüon in
Oberon by Weber, Cassio in Verdi's Otello and the Italian Singer
in Der Rosenkavalier. In 1952 he participated in the Opéra-Comique's
premiere of von Lévy's opera Dolorès. His recordings
include a solo album for Pathé and the title part in a 1949 recording of
Gounod's Faust for HMV conducted by Thomas Beecham.
We are pleased to present him here in Thaïs