Fernand Francell

Fernand Francell studied at the École des Beaux Arts, but then, he started to train his voice at the Paris conservatory (teachers: Rose Caron and Jacques Isnardon). He made his debut at the Opéra-Comique on September 11th, 1906 in Mireille, and remained at that theater for his entire career. He sang a wide array of roles, with a focus on lyrical roles in Baroque opera and Mozart; his most successful performances were in Don Giovanni, Zauberflöte and Joseph. He participated in the world premieres of: Le bonhomme jadis (by Jacques Dalcroze) on November 8th, 1906, as Octave; Fortunio (Messager) on June 5th, 1907, as Fortunio; Solange (by Gaston Salvayre) on March 10th, 1909, as Frédéric; Chiquito (by Jean Nouguès) on October 30th, 1909, as Chiquito; Le mariage de Télémaque (by Claude Terrasse) on May 4th, 1910, as Télémaque; Le voile du bonheur (by Charles Pons) on April 26th, 1911, as Tou-Fou; La danseuse de Pompéi (by Nouguès) on October 29th, 1912, as Hyacinthe; and La marchande d'allumettes (by Tiarko Richepin) on February 25th, 1914, as Gréham. In 1911, he toured Argentina, and in 1920 Brazil, both tours being highly successful. Later, he was a professor at the Paris Conservatory for many years. His only daughter Jacqueline Francell was a successful operetta singer.
Robert Schlesinger

I wish to thank Richard J Venezia for the recording.