# Jacques Jansen > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jacques_Jansen > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jacques_Jansen.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Jansen > Source revision: 1316482009 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{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''](/source/baritone) 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](/source/solf%C3%A8ge) and [bassoon](/source/bassoon) at the conservatoire in [Tours](/source/Tours), where he also pursued courses in fine arts.{{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 }} Having taken vocal lessons with [Charles Panzéra](/source/Charles_Panz%C3%A9ra), from 1938 he studied under [Claire Croiza](/source/Claire_Croiza) and Georges Viseur (solfège) at the [Paris Conservatoire](/source/Paris_Conservatoire). He also took classes with [René Simon](/source/Ren%C3%A9_Simon) and [Louis Jouvet](/source/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](/source/Claude_Debussy)'s opera ''[Pelléas et Mélisande](/source/Pell%C3%A9as_et_M%C3%A9lisande_(opera))'' with the [Orchestre National de France](/source/Orchestre_National_de_France) under [Inghelbrecht](/source/D%C3%A9sir%C3%A9-%C3%89mile_Inghelbrecht), an experience which left him overwhelmed with joy.Dutronc, Jean-Louis. " Jacques Jansen : 30 ans de Pelléas ". In: Pelléas et Mélisande, Avant-Scene, Paris, 1977. He made his debut as Pelléas at the [Grand Théâtre de Genève](/source/Grand_Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_de_Gen%C3%A8ve) in 1941. After his Paris debut at the [Opéra-Comique](/source/Op%C3%A9ra-Comique) as Pelléas on 20 April 1941, Jansen also appeared as a singer in [Fauré](/source/Gabriel_Faur%C3%A9)'s ''[Masques et bergamasques](/source/Masques_et_bergamasques_(Faur%C3%A9))'' (January 1942), Valérien in ''Malvina'' (July 1945) and the title role in ''Fragonard'' (February 1946).Wolff S. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900–1950)''. André Bonne, Paris, 1953. Jansen recorded Pelléas in an Opéra-Comique cast under the conductor [Roger Désormière](/source/Roger_D%C3%A9sormi%C3%A8re) in April and May 1941 with [Irène Joachim](/source/Ir%C3%A8ne_Joachim) as Mélisande.Massin B. ''Les Joachim – Une famille de musiciens.'' Fayard, Paris, 1999. This recording is widely considered as a reference recording of this opera.Blyth A. Pelléas et Mélisande, in ''Opera, Thirty all-time great recordings''. ''[Opera](/source/Opera_(British_magazine))'', London, 2002. Jansen later recorded the same role under [André Cluytens](/source/Andr%C3%A9_Cluytens) and Inghelbrecht. He also sang the role under Désormière with the Opéra-Comique company at [Covent Garden](/source/Covent_Garden) in June 1949, 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](/source/Seul_dans_la_nuit)'', before being passed over for Jacques Pills.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. His last performance was in [Tours](/source/Tours) in March 1971. Although best remembered for the role of Pelléas he also sang [baroque](/source/baroque) opera (''[Les Indes galantes](/source/Les_Indes_galantes)'' and ''[Platée](/source/Plat%C3%A9e)'' by [Jean-Philippe Rameau](/source/Jean-Philippe_Rameau)), modern opera (''[Christophe Colomb](/source/Christophe_Colomb)'' by [Darius Milhaud](/source/Darius_Milhaud) and ''[Les caprices de Marianne](/source/Les_caprices_de_Marianne)'' at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in 1956), [operetta](/source/operetta) (''[The Merry Widow](/source/The_Merry_Widow)'' by [Franz Lehár](/source/Franz_Leh%C3%A1r), the premiere of ''La Belle de Paris'' by Georges Van Parys in 1961 and Antonin in ''[Ciboulette](/source/Ciboulette)'' in Geneva) and [mélodie](/source/m%C3%A9lodie)s. 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](/source/Alain_Cuny) in ''[Les Visiteurs du Soir](/source/Les_Visiteurs_du_Soir)'' (1942).Obituary – Jacques Jansen. ''Opera'', June 2002, 680. He was for five years professor at the Conservatoire in [Marseille](/source/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](/source/Lakm%C3%A9)''. He recorded selections from ''[Véronique](/source/V%C3%A9ronique_(operetta))'' with [Yvonne Printemps](/source/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](/source/Emmanuel_Chabrier) and [Hahn](/source/Reynaldo_Hahn) (LXT2774) and songs by [Schubert](/source/Schubert), [Jaubert](/source/Maurice_Jaubert), [Beydts](/source/Louis_Beydts), and [Françaix](/source/Jean_Fran%C3%A7aix).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. ==Filmography== * 1942 : ''Patricia'' by [Paul Mesnier](/source/Paul_Mesnier) * 1944 : ''La Malibran'' by [Sacha Guitry](/source/Sacha_Guitry) * 1944 : ''Bonsoir mesdames, bonsoir messieurs'' by [Roland Tual](/source/Roland_Tual) * 1949 : ''La Ronde des heures'' by [Alexandre Ryder](/source/Alexandre_Ryder) * 1972 : ''[Figaro-ci, Figaro-là](/source/Figaro-ci%2C_Figaro-l%C3%A0)'' by [Hervé Bromberger](/source/Herv%C3%A9_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…}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Jansen, Jacques}} Category:French operatic baritones Category:1913 births Category:2002 deaths Category:Singers from Paris Category:20th-century French male opera singers --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jacques Jansen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Jansen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Jansen?action=history)). 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