Henri Legay (Tenor) (Paris, July 1, 1920 – Paris, September 16, 1992)

First he began an education as an orchestra musician, then appeared as a singer in cabaret and cabarets and accompanied himself (and also other artists) on the guitar. Till 1947 he studied singing at the Conservatoire National de Paris and made his debut as an operetta singer at the Théâtre Alhambra in Paris and guested there in different operetta productions. In 1950 he made his debut as Faust at the Lausanne Opera. In the 1950-1951 season he was engaged by the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels and then sang at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, where he made his debut in 1952 as Gérald in ‘’Lakmé’’. In 1952 he made his debut at Paris Grand Opéra as Damon in "Les Indes galantes" by Rameau. At this opera house he appeared as Alfredo in ‘’La Traviata’’, Belmonte in "Entführung aus dem Serail" and Faust. Especially he was highly acclaimed in the Belgian metropolis Brussels. Still in 1979 he sang with great success at the Opera of Ghent. His repertoire included Nadir in ‘’Pêcheurs de perles’’, De Grieux in ‘’Manon’’, Wilhelm Meister in ‘’Mignon’’, Count Almaviva in ‘’Il Barbiere di Siviglia’’, Armand in ‘’Les deux journées’’ of Cherubini, Henry Smith in ‘’La jolie fille de Perth’’ of Bizet, Duke in ‘’Rigoletto’’, George Brown in "La Dame blanche" by Boieldieu and the title part in ‘’Sigurd’’ of Reyer. In a later segment of his career he also appeared as director.

Chronology of some appearances

1950 Lausanne Opera Faust (Faust)

1950-1951  Brussels Théâtre de la Monnaie

1952 Paris Opéra-Comique Lakmé (Gérald)

1952 Paris Grand Opéra Les Indes galantes (Damon)

1979 Ghent Opera

RECORDINGS FOR SALE

Marche Des Boucaniers
Rien N'existe Sans Toi
Chanson De Mon Amour
Mon Amour Reviens

Manon (Massenet): Le Rêve
Lakmé (Delibes): Ah! Viens Dans La Forêt
Werther (Massenet): O Natura
La Dame Blanche (Boieldieu): Viens, Gentille Dame
La Basoche (Messager): Je Suis Aimé De La Plus Belle 
Rigoletto (Verdi): Questa o quella
Rigoletto (Verdi): La donna e mobile
Le Roi D'ys (Lalo): Vainement, Ma Bien­-Aimée
Faust (Gounod): Quel Trouble Inconnu Me Pénètre!...Salut, Demeure
Mârouf (Rabaud): À Travers Le Désert
Mârouf (Rabaud):Il Est Des Musulmans Dans La Ville Du Caire
Martha (Flotow): À Mes Yeux
Le Postillon De Longjumeau (Adam): Mes Amis, Écoutez L'histoire
Les Pêcheurs De Perles (Bizet): Je Crois Entendre Encore