He studied singing at the Paris Conservatoire under
Isnardon. In 1901 he made his debut at the Opéra de Lyon in ‘’Les Huguenots’’of
G. Meyerbeer. In 1903 he sang in Nantes , the
next year at the Théâtre de la Haye in the
Hague . He married to the mezzo-soprano Jeanne
Billa-Azéma (1879-1967), who was engaged together with him by the
Opéra-Comique in Paris (1905), where as a beginning role he sang Don Basilio in G. Rossini's ‘’Il Barbiere di
Siviglia’’. Till 1930 he was a highly respected member of this
opera house. Here he appeared in the premieres of ''Les Pêcheurs de Saint Jean''
by Ch. Marie Widor (1905), ''Ariane et barbe-blue'' by P. Dukas (1907), ‘’Macbeth’’
of E. Bloch (1910), ‘’La Jota’’of R. Laparra
(1911), ‘’La Sorcière’’ by C. Erlanger (1912), ‘’Marouf’’ of H. Rabaud (1914), ‘’Le
Roi Candaule’’ of A. Bruneau (1920) and ‘’Dans l'Ombre de la Cathédrale’’ of G.
Hüe (1921). His extensive repertoire included sultan in ‘’Marouf’’, Nilakantha
in ‘’Lakmé’’, Arkel in ‘’Pelléas et Mélisande’’, Daland in ''Fliegenden
Holländer'', Lothario in ''Mignon'', Sulpice in ''La fille du Régiment'', Louis
XII in ''La Basoche''. After his retirement, he became in 1941 a manager of the
Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse .
Later he lived in Paris
and been active again as a painter. Several his portraits have been attached in
the entrance hall of the Opéra-Comique.
Chronology of some appearances
1901 Lyon Opéra
1904 Hague Théâtre de la Haye
1905 Paris Opéra-Comique
RECORDING FOR SALE
Ultima (later Perfectaphone, Corona, Opéra, Arya), Paris 1905?
Mignon (Thomas): Mignon (Thomas): Berceuse 429