Arthur Descamps
I wish to thank Georges Cardol for the pictures.
As a young man, he sang in choirs in his native city and also played the trumpet at various musical events. He was urged to study and, encouraged by Achille Tondeur, he studied with him at the conservatory in Mons. At Liège he studied with Adolphe Maréchal. He became a protégé of the older singer. He made his debut at the Monnaie in 1914. Early performances at Verviers included: Wilhelm in "Mignon" (26 November 1916), Des Grieux in "Manon" (23 November 1916), Werther and several concerts. He made his Liège debut singing with the company through 1918. His roles included: Rodolfo in "La bohème", Duke of Mantua in "Rigoletto", Jean in "Hérodiade", Marquis de Federia in "Le château de la Grande Breteche", Fernand in "La favorite", Pinkerton in "Madama Butterfly", Roméo in "Roméo et Juliette", Toinet in "Le chemineau", Don José in "Carmen", Alfredo in "La traviata", Zephirs in "Si j'étais roi", Canio in "Pagliacci", Gerard in "Lakmé", Faust, Vasco da Gama in "L'Africaine", Araquil in "La navarraise", Cavaradossi in "Tosca", Turiddu in "Cavalleria rusticana" and Loge in "Das Rheingold". He also sang at La Louvière and Namur and at the Théâtre des Galeries in Brussels, portraying Cavaradossi, Don José and Werther. In 1919 he was appearing in Marseille, Nice, La Louvière, Liege, and Mons, where he sang in "L'attaque du moulin", and in concert with the bass Pharaon Houx. From 1919-1921 at the Théâtre Royal Français in Antwerp he portrayed: Turiddu in "Cavalleria rusticana", Mylio in "Le roi d'Ys", Guassin in "Sapho", Pylade in "Iphigénie en Tauride", Pedrito in "La cabrera" and Enzo in "La Gioconda". He appeared there in latter seasons: 1922-1923 and 1924-1925 as a guest artist. in 1922 he sang at the Kursaal in Oostende. At Strasbourg he tackled several Wagnerian roles, all sung in French: Tannhäuser, Tristan, Parsifal, Siegmund and Loge. Later, he often gave recitals and concerts, appearing in Antwerp and most of the theatres in the south of Belgium. 1924 he underwent an operation to remove nodules from his vocal cords. Luckily, it proved to be successful and he resumed an active career shortly after the operation. He was noted for his clear diction and for the warmth and vibrancy of his voice. Source: Isoldes Liebestod
La bohème – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 Rigoletto – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 Hérodiade – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 Le château de la Grande Bretèche – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 La favorite – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 Mignon – Verviers, 26 November 1916 Madame Butterfly – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 Roméo et Juliette – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 Le chemineau – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 Carmen – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 La traviata – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 Si j'étais roi – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 Paillasse – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 Lakmé – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 Manon – Verviers, 23 November 1916 Werther – Verviers, 11 January 1917 Faust – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 L'Africaine – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 La Navarraise – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 Tosca – Liège, Pavillon de Flore et Trianon, 1916-1918 Cavalleria rusticana – Liège, Opéra Royal, 1916-18 L'or du Rhin – Liège, Opéra Royal, 1916-18 Le roi d'Ys – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1919/21 Sapho (Gaussin) – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1919/21 Iphigénie en Tauride (Pylade) – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1919/21 La cabrera (Pedrito) – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1919/21 La Gioconda – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1919/21 L'attaque du moulin – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1919/21 Henri VIII – Vichy, Casino, 1920 Les Troyens à Carthage – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1920/1 Salammbô – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1920/1 La flûte enchantée – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1920/1 Angelo, tyran de Padoue – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1920/1 Kaatje – Brussels, Monnaie, 1921/4 Gianni Schicchi – Brussels, Monnaie, 5 January 1922 Louise – Brussels, Monnaie, 1921/4 La vie brève – Brussels, Monnaie, 12 April 1923 L'enfance du Christ – Brussels, Monnaie, 1921/4 Le chant de la cloche (Wilhelm) – Brussels, Monnaie, 1921/4 Quand la cloche sonnera (Yasha) – Brussels, Monnaie, 21 December 1923 La princesse d'auberge (Merlin) – Brussels, Monnaie, 1921/4 Fidelio – Brussels, Monnaie, 1921/4 Résurrection – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1925/7 La passion – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1925/7 L'amour des trois oranges – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1925/7 Aida – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1925/7 Roma – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1925/7 La damnation de Faust – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1925/7 Les pêcheurs de perles – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1925/7 Gismonda – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1925/7 A l'ombre de la cathédrale – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1925/7 Samson et Dalila – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1925/7 La lépreuse – Anvers, Opéra Royal, 1925/7 Arlette Bastian (Florent) – Marseille, Opéra, 1927/8 Antigone (Créon) – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1928/34 Ondine (Hugo) – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1928/34 Salome – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1928/34 Don Juan – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1928/34 Tannhäuser – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1928/34 Les contes d'Hoffmann – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1928/34 Parsifal – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1928/34 Andrea Chénier – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1928/34 Norma – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1928/34 Tristan und Isolde – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1928/34 La Walkyrie – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1928/34 L'or du Rhin – Strasbourg, Opéra, 1928/34 Tiefland-Strasbourg, Opéra, 1928/34 Le pardon de Ploërmel – ?
Reference: Les grandes voix du Hainaut, à l'époque du 78 tours., Belgium, 1985. Reference: Richard T. Soper: Belgian opera houses and singers, The Reprint Company, Spartanburg, South Carolina, 1999. I wish to thank Georges Cardol for the discography. I wish to thank Richard J. Venezia for the Africaine recording. I wish to thank Christian Torrent for the recording of Ideale, for all pictures but the first two, for the biography and for the additions to the discography. Reference for bottom picture: the fantastic collection of Claude-Pascal Perna. |
