Andre D'Arkor, a wonderful French tenor of the famous Brussels Theatre de la Monnaie. Conductor Maurice Bastin.

In the early 1930s a number of aria recordings by a virtually unknown tenor caused a great stir. Here was a flexible voice with a noble sound, excellently trained with an effortless top which despite its brilliance retained its softness. Not only the difficult roles of grand opera such as Arnold in Guilleaume Tell or Raoul in Les Huguenots seemed to fit this voice like a glove but also the brilliant tenor roles of the opTra-comique (La Dame Blanche, Le Postillon de Lonjumeau) as well as the lyric roles of French opera (Les POcheurs de Perles, LakmT, Manon etc).

Here in the two great Arias in French

D'Arkor

Belgian tenor, 1901 - 1971

Biographical notes:

Born in Tilleur near LiFge (Wallonia), AndrT dÆArkor received vocal tuition by Henri Seguin and Malherbe at the LiFge Conservatory. He made his debut as GTrald in DTlibesÆ LakmT at the local opera house in 1925 and subsequently appeared in the leading tenor roles in La BohFme, Hamlet, Thans, Lucia di Lammermoor etc. DÆArkor eventually sang at the Royal Opera in Ghent where he was contracted for three seasons, gradually building up a repertoire of 80 roles! He debuted in Lyon in 1929 as Belmonte in MozartÆs Die Entfnhrung aus dem Serail. In 1930 he was invited to the ThTGtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, where he sang Faust and Des Grieux. It was at the La Monnaie he celebrated the greatest success of his career and established himself as an excellent interpreter of lyric and dramatic roles. DÆArkor was to become one of the most important members of the company until the end of his career. In the 1930s, at the peak of his career, he toured the United States, Holland, Germany, France and Switzerland and made a number of records for Columbia, while continuing to appear at the opera houses of Brussels, Ghent and LiFge. A problematic relationship to the Flemish soprano Clara Clairbert and World War II restricted his singing career, and in 1945 he retired from the stage to take up the position of a director at the OpTra Royal in LiFge (1945 to 1965). Later he served the ThTGtre de la Monnaie as artistic director.

Comment:

In the early 1930s a number of aria recordings by a virtually unknown tenor caused a great stir. Here was a flexible voice with a noble sound, excellently trained with an effortless top which despite its brilliance retained its softness. Not only the difficult roles of grand opera such as Arnold in Guilleaume Tell or Raoul in Les Huguenots seemed to fit this voice like a glove but also the brilliant tenor roles of the opTra-comique (La Dame Blanche, Le Postillon de Lonjumeau) as well as the lyric roles of French opera (Les POcheurs de Perles, LakmT, Manon etc).

DÆArkors is a well-timbered and highly expressive tenor voice. His enunciation is exemplary and he excelled in the Italian as well as in the French repertoire. His breath support is particularly fine, the voice itself smooth in emission and masterly controlled throughout the range. There is an effortless and brilliant top which retained its softness. Interesting enough that he was particularly famous for his recordings of Arnold and Raoul, two roles he never sang on stage! All young tenors should be advised to study this superb tenor!