Clément, Edmond (Frédéric-Jean)
Clément, Edmond (Frédéric-Jean)
Clément, Edmond (Frédéric–Jean), esteemed French tenor; b. Paris, March 28, 1867; d. Nice, Feb. 24, 1928. He was a pupil of Warot at the Paris Cons, in 1887, taking first prize in 1889. His debut was at the Opéra–Comique, Nov. 29, 1889, as Vincent in Gounod’s Mireille. His success was instantaneous, and he remained there until 1910 with frequent leave for extended tours; sang in the principal theaters of France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, England, and Denmark. On Dec. 6, 1909, he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. in one of his finest roles, Massenet’s Des Grieux; from 1911 to 1913, sang with the Boston Opera Co. His voice was a light tenor of very agreeable quality, with a range of two octaves. He created the chief tenor parts in the following operas (all at the Opéra–Comique): Bruneau’s L’Attaque du Moulin (1893), Saint–Saëns’s Phryné (1893), Cui’s Le Flibustier (1894), Godard’s La Vivandière (1895), Dubois’s Xavière (1895), Hahn’s L’île du rêve (1898), Erlanger’s Le Juif polonais (1900), Saint–Saëns’s Hélène (1904), Dupont’s La Cabrera (1905), and Vidal’s La Reine Fiammette (1908).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire