First he studied at
the Conservatory in Toulouse, then at the Conservatoire National de Paris. In
1928 he made his debut at the Grand Opéra Paris as Mefistofeles in Gounod's ‘’Faust’’.
At this opera house, for many years he had a huge success in different baritone
roles, including Wagner parts such as Wotan in the Ring. On January 12, 1928 he
sang there in the world premiere of the opera ‘’La Tour de Feu’’ by Sylvio
Lazzari and on March 10, 1936, in the world premiere of Enescu's ‘’Oedipe’’. Guest appearances led him to the
leading opera houses of France and throughout Europe. In 1941, he became a
member of the Opéra-Comique in Paris. Here he debuted as Osmin in ‘’Entführung
aus dem Serail’’, then, among other roles, in the world premiere of Henry Barrauda's
‘’La farce de maître Patelin’’ (June 26. 1948) and in roles like Escamillo in ‘’Carmen’’,
Ramon in ‘’Mireille’’ by C. Gounod, Nilakantha in ‘’Lakmé’’ by L. Delibes and
the elder Germont in ‘’La Traviata’’. In March he sang at the Nice Opera in the
world premiere of the opera ‘’Quatre-Vingt-Treize’’ by Charles Silver. After
the end of his active singing career, he served from 1953 until his death as
professor at the Conservatoire de Paris. His daughter, Michèle Claverie (born
1939) became a well-known coloratura soprano. His younger brother also became
an important singer under the name Charles Clavensy (1914-1988).
Chronology of some
appearances
1928 Paris Grand Opéra
1941 Paris Opéra-Comique
RECORDINGS FOR SALE
Odeon, Paris 1931-04-11
Don Quichotte (Massenet): Comment 29538 138122
Odeon, Paris 1931-10-13
La damnation de Faust (Berlioz): Voici des Roses 29560 138473
La damnation de Faust (Berlioz): Sérénade 29560 138472
Parlophone 1931?
Le Caïd (Thomas): Je comprends que la belle 138703
Faust (Gounod): Sérénade 29.517 106448
Faust (Gounod): Veau d'or 106450
Patrie (Paladille): Pauvre 95608
Roméo et Juliette (Gounod): Die qui fis 95638
Le chalet (Adam): Arrêtons-nous ici 95606
Phile et baucis (Gounod): Ari de vulcain 95607
