Sénéchal, Michel
Sénéchal, Michel
Sénéchal, Michel, French tenor and teacher; b. Tavery, Feb. 11, 1927. He received training at the Paris Cons. After making his operatic debut in Brussels in 1950, he won the Geneva International Competition in 1952 and subsequently sang regularly at the Opéra and the Opéra-Comique in Paris. In 1966 he made his first appearance at the Glyndebourne Festival as Ravel’s Gonzalve. From 1972 to 1988 he sang at the Salzburg Festival. In 1980 he became director of the opera school at the Paris Opéra. He sang the villains in Les Contes d’Hoffmann at his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. on March 8, 1982. In 1985 he created the role of Pope Leo X in Boehmer’s Docteur Faustus at the Paris Opéra. He was best known for his character roles.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire