José de Trévi
31 March 1890 Liège – 21 January 1978 Brussels
Biography
Born Joseph Willemsen into the family of a mining engineer, he showed considerable talent when learning to play the flute as a child, and
thus continued to study that instrument – until his friend from childhood, Fanny Heldy, discovered his voice... and so he switched to
vocal studies at the conservatory of Liège, with Ernest van Dyck. Van Dyck strongly discouraged him from venturing into the heroic
repertory, and he became – after his 1911 debut as Faust – a light opéra-comique tenor, and sang with considerable
success all over Belgium and the French provinces: French operetta, Le postillon de Lonjumeau, Manon, Il barbiere di Siviglia, La fille du
régiment and the like.
Many years later, he met by chance the Italian voice teacher Pintorno, who told him that he was singing the wrong fach, and was actually a
dramatic tenor. After four years of new studies, de Trévi made kind of a second debut, and became quickly the leading francophone
Wagnerian tenor. A member of the Paris Opéra from 1930 onwards, he sang everything from Lohengrin to Tristan and both Siegfrieds,
plus Otello, Énée in Les Troyens, Canio, Samson...
His career ended when he was fired by the Opéra in 1943, because he had refused to sing Tristan in the language of the German
occupants. Jean Ziegler in a Malibran CD booklet (perused here for this biography) states that de Trévi sang a total of 332 roles.
Three-hundred-and-thirty-two! And in our sorry times, people think nobody has sung more roles than those roughly 140 that Domingo has
actually sung on stage...
Roles sung at the Paris Opéra:
He debuted on December 20th, 1930 as and in Siegfried; the same year (i.e. just a few days later!!), he sang also Alfredo in La
traviata!
In 1931, he sang Lohengrin, Mârouf, Canio, Jean (in Hérodiade), Samson, Pylade (in Iphigénie en Tauride), Otello and
Tannhäser, and Guido in the world premiere of La duchesse de Padoue by Le Boucher on October 15th.
In 1932, he added Énée to his Opéra repertory, and participated in two world premieres: as Perfirio in Maximilien by
Milhaud on January 5th, and as Guillaume in Un jardin sur l'Oronte by Bachelet on November 3rd; in 1933, he took on the roles of Yves (in La
tour de feu by Lazzari), Parsifal, the other Siegfried (in Götterdämmerung), Siegmund and Faust (in La damnation de Faust); in
1934, Gaspard (in Rolande ou le mauvais garçon by Rabaud), Herodes, and Le commissaire de la convention (in Perkain by Poueigh);
in 1935, his new roles were Loge and Ulysse (in Pénélope by Fauré); in 1936, Tristan and Le berger (in Œdipe by
Enescu); in 1937, Prinzivalle (in Monna Vanna by Février), Le centurion (in La Samaritaine by d’Olonne), Shuiskij and Stolzing; in
1938, Matho (in Salammbô by Reyer); in 1940, Jason (in Médée by Milhaud); and in 1942, Palestrina.
In RA format
In RA format
In RA format
In RA format
Discography
Gramophone, Paris 1927-10-10
BTR3168-1 Mignon (Thomas): Elle ne croyait pas P738, 4-32778
CTR3169-1-2 Manon: En fermant les yeux 032852, W867
CTR3170-1-2 Manon: Ah fuyez 032851, W867
Gramophone, Paris 1928-06-14
BT4079-1 Paganini (Lehar): Belle Italie unpubl
BT4079-2 d:o K5452, 2-232903
BT4080-1 Werther (Massenet): Pourquoi me reveiller unpubl
BT4080-2 d:o P767, 4-32810
BT4081-1 Werther (Massenet): Lorsque l'enfant revient unpubl
BT4081-2 d:o P767, 4-32811
BT4082-1 Mireille (Gounod): Anges du paradis P786, 4-32827
Gramophone, Paris 1928-10-08
BV67-1 Marouf (Rabaud): Il est des musulmans unpubl
BV67-2 d:o P777, 4-32817
BV68-1 Marouf (Rabaud): A travers le desert unpubl
BV68-2 d:o P777, 4-32816
BV69-1 Marouf (Rabaud): Dans le jardin fleuri unpubl
BV69-2 d:o P782, 4-32823
BV70-1 Marouf (Rabaud): Viens, mon epouse fleurie unpubl
BV70-2 d:o P782, 4-32822
Gramophone, Paris 1928-10-12
CV99-1 Carmen (Bizet): La fleur unpubl
CV99-2T1 d:o L702, 0232291, AN289
CV102-1T1 Carmen (Bizet): Parle-moi de ma mere (w. Brothier) L697, 0234020, AN284
CV103-1T1 Carmen (Bizet): Qui sait de quel demon (w. Brothier) L698, 0234021, AN285
Gramophone, Paris 1928-10-16
CV114-1 Carmen (Bizet): Je suis Escamillo (w. Musy) unpubl
CV114-2T1 d:o L707, 0234026, AN294
Gramophone, Paris 1928-10-23
CV155-1 Carmen (Bizet): Ecoute, ecoute compagnon unpubl
(w. Perelli, Lebard, Fenoyer, Morturier, Cornellier & Payen)
CV155-2T1 d:o L704, 0234033, AN291
CV156-1T1 Carmen (Bizet): Hola! Carmen, hola! L703, 0234032, AN290
(w. Perelli, Lebard, Fenoyer, Morturier, Cornellier & Payen)
CV160-1T1 Carmen (Bizet): Viva! Viva! (w. Perelli & chorus) L711, 0234028, AN298
CV163-1 Carmen (Bizet): Carmen, il est temps encore (w. Perelli) unpubl
CV163-2T1 d:o L711, 0234027, AN298
Gramophone, Paris 1928-10-25
CV177-1T1 Carmen (Bizet): Halte-la!... Je vais danser (w. Perelli) L702, 0234024, AN289
Gramophone, Paris 1928-10-26
CV188-1T1 Carmen (Bizet): Hola! Hola, José! L708, 0234037, AN295
(w. Perelli, Lebard, Fenoyer, Cornellier, Payen, Brothier & Musy)
CV189-1T1 Carmen (Bizet): Va-t'en! Va-t'en! L708, 0234038, AN295
(w. Perelli, Lebard, Fenoyer, Cornellier, Payen, Brothier & Musy)
CV190-1 Carmen (Bizet): Si tu m'aimes, Carmen... C'est toi? unpubl
(w. Perelli, Lebard, Fenoyer & Musy)
CV190-2T1 d:o L710, 0234039, AN297
CV191-1 Carmen (Bizet): Non! Tu ne m'aimes pas (w. Perelli) unpubl
CV191-2T1 d:o L703, 0234025, AN290
CV192-1 Carmen (Bizet): Pres des remparts de Seville (w. Perelli) unpubl
CV192-2 d:o L699, 0234022, AN286
Gramophone, Paris 1928-10-28
CV202-1 Cavalleria rusticana: Vive le vin 32515
CV202-2 d:o W1028, 032515
CV203-1 Le jongleur de Notre Dame: Alléluia du vin unpubl
CV203-2 d:o W1028, 032516
BV204-1 Le roi d'Ys: Vainement unpubl
BV204-2 d:o unpubl
BV204-3T1 d:o 4-32826, P786
Gramophone, Paris 1930-03-21
CF3082 Tannhäuser (Wagner): Retour de Rome, pt 1 W1088
CF3083 d:o, pt 2 W1088
BF3084 Tannhäuser (Wagner): Chant de concours P851
BF3085 Tannhäuser (Wagner): Reine d'amour P851
Gramophone, Paris 1931-02-13
2G278-II La damnation de Faust (Berlioz): Choeur de gnomes et sylphes (w Panzera) 52-893, L-889
2G284-II La damnation de Faust (Berlioz): Introduction - Ronde des paysans - Récit 52-886, L-886
2G285-II La damnation de Faust (Berlioz): Sans regrets j'ai quitté 52-888, L-887
2G286-II La damnation de Faust (Berlioz): Vers les gloires immortelles 52-889, L-887
2G287-II La damnation de Faust (Berlioz): Dans mon coeur retentit (w Panzera) 52-905, L-895
Gramophone, Paris 1931-02-25
2G306-II La damnation de Faust (Berlioz): Ange adoré dont la céleste image 52-901, L-893
(w Berthon)
2G307-I La damnation de Faust (Berlioz): Nature immense 52-904, L-895
2G308-II La damnation de Faust (Berlioz): Merci doux crépuscule 52-896, L-891
Pathé, Paris 1932
N250245 La Juive (Halévy): Rachel, quand du Seigneur X90044
N250246 La Juive (Halévy): Dieu, m'éclaire X90044
Gramophone, Paris 1934-09-07
2LA-3 Götterdämmerung (Wagner): Act I, duo pt 1 (w Lawrence) unpubl
2LA-4 d:o, pt 2 unpubl
Christian Torrent has contributed all pictures, several recordings (L'âme brisée, both Werther arias, Il est des
musulmans, À travers le désert), the discography, and the biographical information: thank you so much!
Reference: Richard T. Soper Belgian opera houses and singers, The Reprint Company, Spartanburg, South Carolina, 1999
Robert Johannesson, www.78opera.com (defunct)
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