His real name was
Marcel Buydens. He received his education in Charleroi under Edgard Druine and at the
Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles. In 1922 he was engaged by the Théâtre la
Monnaie in Brussels ,
where he made his debut as
Wilhelm Meister in ‘’Mignon’’ of A. Thomas. He remained till 1927 at the
Théâtre de la Monnaie, then sang at the Opéra de Lyon and from 1928 to 1937 at
the Opéra-Comique in Paris .
There his repertoire included Rodolfo in G. Puccini’s ‘’La Bohème’’, Hans in B.
Smetana’s ‘’Verkaufter Braut’’, Paolino in ‘’ Matrimonio segreto’’ of D. Cimarosa and George Brown in ‘’La Dame Blanche’’. In 1931 he appeared at the Opéra-Comique
in the premiere of Roger Ducass's opera ‘’Cantegril’’. Since 1937 he belonged
again to the ensemble of the Théâtre la Monnaie, where he appeared till 1958. At
the Opéra de Monte-Carlo he guested as Hoffmann in ‘’Hoffmanns Erzählungen’’,
Pelléas in ‘’Pelléas et Mélisande’’ and as Dimitri in ‘’Boris Godunov’’ (with
Fedor Schaljapin in the title role). He also performed as a guest in London (1928), Prague , Antwerp , Bordeaux , Marseille, Geneva and Oran . He gave a recitals in London and in North
Africa . Since 1938 he also been active as a director.
Later he was a manager of the theatre in Charleroi and professor of the Conservatoire Royal de Mons.
Chronology of some appearances
1923-1927 Brussels Théâtre la Monnaie
1928-1937 Paris Opéra-Comique
1928 London Covent Garden
1931 Paris Opéra-Comique Cantegril