Laurent Grégoire

Another of the great many French singers whose careers have never been researched so far.

He was born in Marseille, started singing at 17 years old, and studied voice at the Marseille conservatory – with Léon Escalaïs, among others.

The first appearances that I can find are some concerts organized by local associations in Marseille: in June and December 1922, and in November 1923.

Obviously, Grégoire was primarily a music hall singer in his early years. He appeared as such at the casino in Palavas-les-Flots in July 1925. In early February 1926, he was in Amiens and sang in Ganne's Saltimbanques at the local theater. Just a few weeks later, he belonged to the Folies-Bergères in Algiers, appearing in the revue "À la riche"; the troupe also moved to the casino of Oran in early July. Later the same year, the Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt in Paris restaged a 1918 Sacha Guitry comedy, Deburau – originally a straight theater play, but for the restaging enriched with incidental music by André Messager. In that form, it was a world premiere at the Sarah-Bernhardt (7 October 1926). Grégoire played and sang the role of Clément.

On 5 June 1927, he took part in an open-air concert in Rennes, singing a duet from Mireille and a mélodie. In July 1928, he appeared in a new music-hall program at the Olympia in Paris. In August, another music-hall program at the casino in Geneva. In September, he sang at the Cigale cinema in Paris.

In March 1930, he appeared at the Marseille opera theater in Lorsque minuit sonna, an opera by the Belgian composer Jean Rogister premiered the year before. Whether it was in that opera or another, I don't know; but anyway, he made his opera debut in Marseille during that season. In December 1930 and March 1931, he was still in Marseille, in both instances singing Turiddu.

Most probably in the 1931/32 season, he appeared in Paris at the Gobelins and the Ba-ta-clan theaters – back to vaudeville, that is.

In summer 1932, it was back to opera again: he sang at the casino of Enghien-les-Bains, and immediately afterwards came to Mulhouse as premier ténor d'opéra-comique. When he sang Faust in October, his "pretty" voice was found to lack the necessary volume. He fared obviously much better in November, in La femme nue by Février. In 1933, he was again a member of the troupe in Marseille.

In February 1934, he sang at the Variété Vitus in Paris, stuff like "La puce et l'éléphant" (tango) or "Maritza" (valse). On 3 June 1934, however, he made his Opéra-Comique debut – as Canio!

It wouldn't seem to have been a great success – I found no further operatic appearances by Grégoire, neither at the Opéra-Comique nor elsewhere. On 9 June 1935, he took part in a mélodie and operetta concert on Radio Rennes, where he was not announced as a tenor but as a crooner. On 2 October 1937, another long variété program on Radio Rennes.