{{for|the Dutch composer|Jacques Jansen (composer)}} {{short description|French opera singer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} '''Jacques Jansen''' (né '''Toupin'''; born Paris, 22 November 1913 – 13 March 2002) was a French ''baryton-martin'' singer, particularly associated with the role of Pelléas in the opera by Debussy, but also active in operetta and on the concert platform, and later as a teacher.
==Life and career== Jansen had a wide musical and artistic education; after studying the violin in Paris, he took lessons in solfège and bassoon at the conservatoire in Tours, where he also pursued courses in fine arts.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://anao.pagesperso-orange.fr/interpr/jansen.html |title=Jacques Jansen |access-date=16 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724162646/http://anao.pagesperso-orange.fr/interpr/jansen.html |archive-date=24 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Having taken vocal lessons with Charles Panzéra, from 1938 he studied under Claire Croiza and Georges Viseur (solfège) at the Paris Conservatoire. He also took classes with René Simon and Louis Jouvet and won prizes which might have allowed him to follow a career in acting. In 1939 he sang the fountain scene (Act 2 scene 1) and the tower scene (Act 3 scene 1) of Claude Debussy's opera ''Pelléas et Mélisande'' with the Orchestre National de France under Inghelbrecht, an experience which left him overwhelmed with joy.<ref name="Dutronc, Jean-Louis 1977">Dutronc, Jean-Louis. " Jacques Jansen : 30 ans de Pelléas ". In: Pelléas et Mélisande, Avant-Scene, Paris, 1977.</ref>
He made his debut as Pelléas at the Grand Théâtre de Genève in 1941.<ref name="Dutronc, Jean-Louis 1977"/>
After his Paris debut at the Opéra-Comique as Pelléas on 20 April 1941, Jansen also appeared as a singer in Fauré's ''Masques et bergamasques'' (January 1942), Valérien in ''Malvina'' (July 1945) and the title role in ''Fragonard'' (February 1946).<ref name="Wolff">Wolff S. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900–1950)''. André Bonne, Paris, 1953.</ref>
Jansen recorded Pelléas in an Opéra-Comique cast under the conductor Roger Désormière in April and May 1941 with Irène Joachim as Mélisande.<ref name="Massin">Massin B. ''Les Joachim – Une famille de musiciens.'' Fayard, Paris, 1999.</ref> This recording is widely considered as a reference recording of this opera.<ref name="Blyth">Blyth A. Pelléas et Mélisande, in ''Opera, Thirty all-time great recordings''. ''Opera'', London, 2002.</ref> Jansen later recorded the same role under André Cluytens and Inghelbrecht. He also sang the role under Désormière with the Opéra-Comique company at Covent Garden in June 1949,<ref name="OperaObit"/> as well as in New York, Brussels, Lisbon, Berlin, Milan, Rome and Tokyo. Having already appeared in three films, he was also considered for the role of popular singer Jacques Sartory in the 1945 crime drama film ''Seul dans la nuit'', before being passed over for Jacques Pills.<ref>La Bonhomie façon Blier: Entretiens autour du film avec Jean-Philippe Guerand, Didier Griselain and Thibault Le Hégarat (documentary). Included with Pathé DVD/Blu-ray issue P712753, 2022.</ref>
His last performance was in Tours in March 1971.
Although best remembered for the role of Pelléas he also sang baroque opera (''Les Indes galantes'' and ''Platée'' by Jean-Philippe Rameau), modern opera (''Christophe Colomb'' by Darius Milhaud and ''Les caprices de Marianne'' at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in 1956), operetta (''The Merry Widow'' by Franz Lehár, the premiere of ''La Belle de Paris'' by Georges Van Parys in 1961 and Antonin in ''Ciboulette'' in Geneva) and mélodies. Jansen was a magnetic interpreter of Danilo in ''The Merry Widow'', which he performed some 1,500 times in France, displaying his acting skills, which he also used in several films. He dubbed the singing voice of Alain Cuny in ''Les Visiteurs du Soir'' (1942).<ref name="OperaObit">Obituary – Jacques Jansen. ''Opera'', June 2002, 680.</ref>
He was for five years professor at the Conservatoire in Marseille, then held a similar post at the Paris Conservatoire, finally teaching vocal technique at the Opéra-Studio.
==Discography== Besides the three recordings of ''Pelléas et Mélisande'', Jansen's discography includes Frédéric in a complete ''Lakmé''. He recorded selections from ''Véronique'' with Yvonne Printemps in 1941, ''The Merry Widow'' in 1953, ''Ta bouche'' in 1956, and ''Fragonard'' in 1957. In 1952 he recorded a recital for Decca of Ravel, Debussy, Chabrier and Hahn (LXT2774) and songs by Schubert, Jaubert, Beydts, and Françaix.<ref>In part from: AHRC Research Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music accessed 13 December 2010 website http://www.charm.kcl.ac.uk/index.html.</ref>
==Filmography== * 1942 : ''Patricia'' by Paul Mesnier * 1944 : ''La Malibran'' by Sacha Guitry * 1944 : ''Bonsoir mesdames, bonsoir messieurs'' by Roland Tual * 1949 : ''La Ronde des heures'' by Alexandre Ryder * 1972 : ''Figaro-ci, Figaro-là'' by Hervé Bromberger (TV)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://perso.orange.fr/anao/interpr/jansen.html Obituary in French] *{{YouTube|bEUPynHPE-M|Testimony of Jacques Jansen about his beginnings, Roger Désormière, Pelléas & Mélisande…}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jansen, Jacques}} Category:French operatic baritones Category:1913 births Category:2002 deaths Category:Singers from Paris Category:20th-century French male opera singers