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César Vezzani (1888 - 1951)Note by Alan Bilgora |
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César Vezzani was a true tenor-fort, equivalent of the Italian lyrico-spinto, and therefore assigned the demi-caractère rôles which demand a wide vocal range. In addition Vezzani’s brilliant top notes place him firmly in a line of French dramatic tenors who can claim their heritage from Gilbert-Louis Duprez (1806-1896). It is worth considering this line of descent in more detail. The importance of the tenor voice in opera developed gradually: the primo-uomo (leading male) parts were from the outset the exclusive province of the castrato and female soprano. The tenor only gradually emerged from a purely supporting function to a more active part in the music-drama taking the heroic and romantic rôles. Eventually, as we recognise today, the tenor became the most popular voice type: one theory being that this is so because it appeals uniquely to both male and female aspects of human nature. In the early period of this transformation tenors like Manuel García (b.1775), Giovanni Rubini (b.1794) and Giovanni Mario (b.1810) who possessed a traditional coloratura facility coupled with a mellifluous and virile tone excelled in these rôles becoming internationally recognised divi in their own right.
Until the beginning of the nineteenth century high notes - from A above the stave - had been sung by all tenors in a voix-mixte : a mixture of head and chest tones which facilitated the written coloratura and sustained a lyrical approach to the vocal line. But as composers experimented with the density and volume of orchestral accompaniments a different breed of tenor was required - one who was prepared to sing high notes from the chest in piena voce (full voice). Gilbert-Louis Duprez is the tenor credited with emitting that first high C launched from the chest, stunning his audiences and instantly carving out a new position for the tenor in the operatic hierarchy. He was followed immediately by the Italian Enrico Tamberlick (b.1820) who roused his audiences by interpolating an unwritten high C sharp into the finale of Rossini’s Otello. Before long the public were no longer content only to be charmed but also expected to be excited by this new kind of tenor singing and in particular by the virile, attacking approach to acuti (high notes). By the twentieth century this had became de rigueur, and even the lyric tenor today has to demonstrate that he can sing his highest tones in a way that will engender some sort of frisson in the listener. César Vezzani was born on August 8 th 1888 in Bastia, Corsica, but moved with his parents to Toulon in 1903. Limited formal schooling led inevitably to manual employment, and at the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to a shoe-maker. This was evidently not to his liking and he enrolled to become a ship’s apprentice. On board he was overhead singing in the bass register by a passenger, a music professor, who suggested voice lessons. Vezzani went to Paris in 1907 and began his studies with the soprano Agnes Borgo who discovered and developed his tenor voice. She also coached this somewhat provincial young man in musical notation, diction, and helped him to improve his reading and writing so that he might more easily learn operatic rôles. Thus armed he applied in 1908 to enter the Paris Conservatoire. Some time later he gained an audition with Albert Carré, director of the Opéra-Comique 1898-1914, and secured a contract there, making his debut on 17th December 1911 as the eponymous hero in Richard Coeur-de-Lion by Grétry. In subsequent seasons he appeared as Don José in Carmen, Des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon , Turridu in Cavalleria Rusticana, Cavaradossi in Tosca , Canio in Pagliacci, un Faucheur in Meyerbeer’s Le Pardon de Ploërmel (Dinorah), and Don Enrique in La Sorciére by Camille Erlanger. In 1913 he married Agnes Borgo: his personal and professional life following a similar pattern to that of the famous Spanish tenor Miguel Fleta who also married his mentor - Luise Pierrick. Vezzani’s regular involvement with the Opéra-Comique lasted until 1918 but thereafter he appeared only rarely with the company. He began to record for Pathé in 1914 and later, more prolifically, for Odeon and HMV. Over the next few years he gained renown in the larger regional houses in France and Belgium giving frequent appearances in Nice, Marseille, Toulon, Toulouse and Brussels. He also sang in Switzerland and North Africa - in Algiers he was so admired that he settled there for a while. He was most famous for his rôle in Gounod’s Faust, which he recorded complete for HMV alongside Mireille Berthon and Marcel Journet. He had great success as Eleazar in Halévy’s La Juive , Vasco de Gamma in Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine, Arnold in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell and was considered an outstanding interpreter of the title role in Reyer’s opera Sigurd. His Wagnerian rôles included Lohengrin, Siegmund and Siegfried, where his telling and incisive timbre and underlying lyricism made him an ideal interpreter. It has often been asked why, in view of his national popularity, he was never given a contract to sing at the Paris Opéra. The official line was that he did not quite fit into the ‘house style’. Be that as it may, it was also well known that he did not like the financial politics that governed the employment of certain artists, and when he was approached to sing there he refused. It was certainly the Opéra’s loss. He sang instead in those theatres where he was most admired until in 1948, during a rehearsal of L’Africaine in Toulon, he suffered a stroke. He was left with a partial paralysis and obliged to retire. César Vezzani died on the 11 th November 1951 in Marseille and was buried in his birthplace, Bastia, where his many admirers still come to visit his tomb. There can be no doubt that Vezzani possessed one of the most exciting and compelling tenor voices of the twentieth century - his huge range extending from a low D flat to a brilliant high C sharp. His public rightly idolised him and many rated his contribution to the art of singing above that of most of his French contemporaries, even though some of them achieved a wider international reputation. The musical establishment in France holds the view that Vezzani possessed a round and fruity timbre, produced from a solid and healthy vocal technique, supported by superb phrasing and innate musicality, and that he had a fine understanding of the dramatic requirements of all his rôles. It will be evident from the discs used for the present issue that Vezzani did indeed possess an exceptional talent. Although his voice is to be heard at its very best when the vocal chords are fully engaged, he was able to soften the tone when required. He could float a fine head note, as demonstrated in the Rêve from Manon, and of course he possessed all the ‘big guns’ required for the dramatic St. Sulpice scene. He was totally at home in demanding rôles like Otello, Arnold, Samson, Vasco do Gamma, and as John of Leyden in Meyerbeer’s Le Prophéte where his martial delivery of ‘Roi du Ciel’ is an object lesson in dramatic tenor singing. He manages to evoke sympathy as Eleazar in La Juive, is poetic in ‘Pouquoi me reveiller’, and very forthright and committed in his singing of the Italian roles - Tosca, Cavalleria Rusticana, and Pagliacci. The excerpts from Sigurd , which he recorded for both Odeon and HMV, are rightly celebrated displaying his finest qualities: an excellent vocal line and a bright virile tone. All the arias requiring ringing top notes are sung in the original keys, and the unusual dynamism and vibrancy exhibited on high Cs is truly something to be treasured. César Vezzani on the evidence of his recordings alone deserves much greater international recognition. |
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