Louis Gueymard

He worked on his parents' farm when his voice was discovered by the director of the Opéra de Lyon, who became also his first teacher. Gueymard made his debut in Lyon in 1845, then he completed his studies at the Conservatoire National in Paris until 1848.

From 1848 to 1868, he was the first tenor of the Paris Opéra. He created many operas there; most of them are now forgotten, but worth remembering are Le prophète, where he sang Jonas (1849), three operas by Gounod )Sapho, 1851; La nonne sanglante, 1854; and La reine de Saba, 1862), Roland à Roncevaux by Mermet (1864), and above all, Les vêpres siciliennes (1855), where he created Henri (Arrigo). Outside Paris, Gueymard sang at Covent Garden in London (1854), and in New Orleans (1873/74).

The central roles of his repertory were Arnold, Jean de Leyde, Manrico, Rodolfo in Luisa Miller, Tebaldo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Raoul, Edgardo, Éléazar, and above all Robert le diable.

Reference 1, reference 2: Kutsch & Riemens