Léopold Simoneau
Simoneau was the prototypical Mozart tenor, with an unusually sweet voice, strong breath control, easy pianos and pianissimos, and graceful phrasing. His unstrained head voice also made him ideal for French lyric roles, such as Wilhelm Meister in Mignon, Nicias in Thais, and Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de Perles, operas in which he enjoyed great success as well.
He studied in Montreal with Salvator Issaurel and made his operatic debut there in 1941, as Hadji in Delibes' Lakmé. In 1949, he made his debuts in Paris, at the Opera-Comique as Vincent in Gounod's Mireille and at the Opera as Tamino in The Magic Flute. His Glyndebourne debut was in 1951 as Idamante in Mozart's Idomeneo, and he made his La Scala, Vienna Staatsoper, Salzburg, and Met debuts in Mozart roles as well. While Mozart and French operas made up his core repertoire, he also appeared in the lighter Italian roles, including Alfredo in La traviata.
He married soprano Pierrette Alarie in 1946. After their retirements, they founded the Canada Opera Piccola a touring company that specializes in nurturing young singers, in 1986. (One of Opera Piccola's alumni is tenor Richard Margison.) Though the performance version is heavily cut, his Idamante in Pritchard's first recording of Idomeneo (EMI CHS7 63685-2) is ravishing, as is his Nadir on Philips under Fournet (Philips 434 782-2).
© TiVo
Similar artists
-
Mozart: La flûte enchantée, airs (Mono Version)
Pierrette Alarie, Léopold Simoneau, Orchestre du Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, André Jouve
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Singer Portrait: Simoneau & Alarie
Léopold Simoneau, Pierrette Alarie
Opera - Released by The Art Of Singing on 13 Mar 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Léopold Simoneau: The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 (Recorded 1952-1959)
Classical - Released by Documents on 7 Feb 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ausgewählte Lieder und Arien (Live)
Classical - Released by Orfeo on 8 Feb 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gluck · orphée et eurydice
Léopold Simoneau, Suzanne Danco, Pierrette Alarie, Hans Rosbaud, Orchestre Lamoureux
Classical - Released by G.O.P. on 28 Feb 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Airs d'opéras (Mono Version)
Léopold Simoneau, Orchestre du Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, André Jouve
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen (Mono Version)
Consuelo Rubio, Léopold Simoneau, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Pierre-Michel Le Conte
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: La traviata, extraits (Mono Version)
Léopold Simoneau, Maria Moralès, Orchestre Lamoureux, Pierre Dervaux
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1954
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: La traviata, extraits (Mono Version)
María de los Angeles, Léopold Simoneau, Orchestre Lamoureux, Pierre Dervaux
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: L'enlèvement au sérail, extraits (Mono Version)
Léopold Simoneau, Orchestre du Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, André Jouve
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz Requiem Op. 5
Classical - Released by Mangora Classical on 12 Jul 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: The Childhood of Christ
Léopold Simoneau, Mary Davenport, The Little Orchestra Society
Opera - Released by Past Classics on 2 Feb 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hector Berlioz : The Grande Messe des morts "Requiem" (1959)
Classical - Released by Classical Moments on 30 Dec 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Otto Ackermann conducts: Henri Duparc / Giacomo Puccini / Pietro Mascagni / Umberto Giordano: Concert Gala 1
Léopold Simoneau, Kölner Rundfunksinfonieorchester, Sena Jurinac, Peter A.G., Grosses Orchester des Südwestfunks, Hans Hopf
Concertos - Released by Classico Ivano on 17 Apr 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz Requiem Op. 5
Classical - Released by Mangora Classical on 26 Jul 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Opera Arias
Léopold Simoneau, Peirrette Alaire
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Urania on 13 Jun 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice
Léopold Simoneau, Suzanne Danco, Orchestre Lamoureux, Hans Rosbaud
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo