Hector Dufranne

Hector Dufranne (October 25, 1870, Mons - May 4, 1951, Paris) was a Belgian bass-baritone.

Dufranne studied in Brussels, and made his debut there, at La Monnaie, as Valentin, in 1896.

He sang at the Opéra-Comique in Paris from 1900 to 1909, where he created several roles, notably; Saluces in "Griselidis" (1901), Golaud in "Pelléas et Mélisande" (1902), Amaury-Ganelon in "La fille de Roland" by Henri Rabaud (1904), and Clavaroche in "Fortunio" by André Messager (1907). He also appeared at the
Monte Carlo Opera, where he took part in the creation of "Thérèse" by Jules Massenet, in 1907. He made his debut at the Paris Opera in 1909, and sang there Scarpia in the premiere of "Tosca".

He also appeared in America, at the Manhattan Opera in New York, 1908-1910, where he took part in many local premieres notably; Golaud, le Prieur in "Le jongleur de Notre-Dame", Caoudal in "Sapho". He also sang at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, 1910-1922, creating there Léandre in "The Love for Three Oranges" (in French) by Sergei Prokofiev, in 1921.

In 1923, in Paris, he created for Manuel de Falla, his "Les Tréteaux de Maitre Pierre".

One of the grandest voices of his time, he sang until 1939.

ources

* "Le guide de l'opéra", R. Mancini & J-J. Rouvereux, FAYARD, 1986, ISBN 2-213-01563-6