Martin, (Nicolas-) Jean-Blaise

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Martin, (Nicolas-) Jean-Blaise

Martin, (Nicolas-) Jean-Blaise, famous French baritone; b. Paris, Feb. 24, 1768; d. Ronzières, Rhone, Oct. 28, 1837. He made his debut at Paris’s Théâtre de Monsieur in 1789 in Le Marquis de Tulipano. He sang at the Théâtre Feydeau and the Théâtre Favart from 1794 until they were united as the Opéra-Comique in 1801, remaining there until 1823; sang there again in 1826 and 1833. He was also a member of the Imperial (later Royal) Chapel from its founding until 1830. He was a prof, at the Paris Cons. (1816–18; 1832–37). He wrote an opéracomique, Les Oiseaux de mer (Paris, 1796). His voice, while essentially baritone in quality, had the extraordinary range of 2 1/2 octaves, E flat to a’.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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Martin, (Nicolas-) Jean-Blaise

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