Roger Soyer

Roger Soyer (born September 1, 1939) is a French operatic bass-baritone, particularly associated with the French repertory and with Mozart 's Don Giovanni.

Soyer was born in Paris, and first studied privately with G. Daum, before entering the Paris Conservatory at age 19, where he was a pupil of Georges Jouatte and Louis Musy. He made his professional debut at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in 1962, creating the role of Mac Creag in Gilbert Bécaud 's opera "L'opéra d'Aran".

He sang on French Radio in 1964, in Rameau 's "Hippolyte et Aricie", and made his debut at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 1965, as Pluton in Monteverdi 's "L'Orfeo". The same year he made his debut at the Opéra-Comique, as Colline, in "La Bohème", and at the Palais Garnier, as Mephisto in Gounod 's "Faust".

On the international scene, he appeared at the Wexford Festival in "La jolie fille de Perth", and at the Edinburgh Festival as "Don Giovanni", a role he became closely associated with, singing it at Aix-en-Provence, Munich, Vienna, Florence, Chicago, New York.

Other notable roles include; Ferrando in "Il trovatore", Procida in "Les vepres siciliennes", Titurel in "Parsifal",Rangoni in "Boris Godunov", Pope Clement in "Benvenuto Cellini", etc.

Soyer has a beautiful and smoothly produced voice, he made several recordings, notably "Lakmé", opposite Mady Mesplé and Charles Burles, under Alain Lombard, and "Benvenuto Cellini", opposite Nicolai Gedda and Robert Massard, under Sir Colin Davis.

Sources

* "Guide de l’opéra", Mancini & Rouveroux, (Fayard, 1995). ISBN 2-213-01563-6