Marius Joannin Souchon
The decisive period in Souchon's career came in 1907 and 1908, when he was a comprimario at the Opéra-Comique, singing Parpignol and Le marchand d'habits (Louise), among others. It's improbably that he made his debut only at 31 years old, so he will probably have sung elsewhere before 1907, but I didn't find any references to him prior to his Op&eacut;ra-Comique tenure. If he was perhaps a comprimario in the provinces, he may not have got much press covering. After the Opéra-Comique, however, he tried himself briefly as a lead tenor, singing Gounod's Faust in a touring production from January to March 1909 – in Creusot, Nevers, Bourges and Roanne, for instance. I also find him in two operatic concerts: in Chartres in November 1908, and in his native Nîmes in August 1909 (together with François Audiger). After that, he slips largely back into obscurity but for his two above 1911 recordings that would seem to be Souchon's entire output. Surprisingly for such a little-known artist, we know quite a bit about his private life, from French official records. In August 1900, he married Marie Jeanne Farinière, who came from Nîmes just as he did. Their little son Fernand died in July 1907, at not quite 2 years old. Our tenor divorced his wife after almost precisely ten years; at some point after that, he married fellow Opéra-Comique singer Louise Montignon, a contralto singing secondary roles. His voice is surprisingly ill-placed for his time, and he is a major pusher. In other words: he seems way more modern than one would wish for.
References: Many thanks to Anton Bieber for the recordings and relative label scans. |