- Louis Gaulard Dumesny
Louis Gaulard Dumesny was a French operatic
tenor .Little is known about Dumesny's early life, legend has it that he was working as a cook when
Jean-Baptiste Lully heard him singing and was impressed by his natural and well focused voice, his vocal range was then known ashaute-contre .He made his stage debut in 1677, singing a small part in "Isis", and then went on creating all roles whithin his range in operas by Lully; Atys, Thésée, Persée, Amadis, Renaud, Acis, Achille. After Lully's death he created several other roles in operas by different composers, notably; "Énée et Lavinie" by
Pascal Collasse , "Médée" byMarc-Antoine Charpentier , "L'Europe galante " byAndré Campra , "Issé" and "Amadis de Grèce" byAndré Cardinal Destouches .An excellent actor with a powerful voice, he seemed to have learned all his roles by memory as he did not know how to read music. Reputed as a
libertine , and for his dispute withLa Maupin .ources
* "Le guide de l'opéra, les indispensables de la musique", R.Mancini & J.J.Rouvereux, (Fayard, 1986), ISBN 2-213-01563-6
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