Although he still studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Jean Lassalle in 1904, his first public appearance that I was able to trace was
in a concert in Lille on 8 April 1900. He came from the south, though: he had been born in Colombiers-les-Béziers (where his voice
had been discovered in a local choir in 1899), and a critic of "Le Temps" chided him, in his review of the 1904 concert of the Conservatoire
students, for his wild southern accent (as well as for his unrestrained shouting). Another critic said about the same concert that Milhau
was a favorite with the audience but not with the jury; that he had a phenomenal voice, but used it "as if he was lifting weights", and
that it seemed he didn't understand anything about the drama or the music that he was singing.
He appeared in further concerts during his studies (Béziers, 1903; Roanne, 1904). His stage career seems to have started in 1905;
he sang in Montpellier (for instance in L'Africaine and Hérodiade), at the Casino in Lamelou-les-Bains, and at the
Opéra de Nice that year, and spent winter 1905/06 as a member of the Opéra de Toulon. Spring 1906 found him in Carcassonne,
singing Arnold.
In winter 1906/07, he was at the Royal in Liège, and for the Easter season 1907 in Perpignan. In October 1907, he made a successful
debut at the Grand-Théâtre in Bordeaux as Raoul; he stayed for the season, singing also Robert le diable for instance. In May
1908, he was once again a guest in Carcassonne, this time as Manrico.
In the 1908/09 season, he was a member of the Capitole in Toulouse, singing Arnold, Matho (Salammbô) and
Éléazar (by far his most performed role), among others. In early 1909, Milhau fell ill and had to cancel several
performances, whereupon the Capitole management stopped paying him, and they did the same to their first soprano, Hélène
Feltesse. Both singers sued the two impresarios, successfully; but in spring, the management went bankrupt, and now a host of artists
again sued them for their fees, with Milhau and Feltesse in the forefront. (At least in the case of Milhau, the refusal to pay him further
when he fell ill was probably an attempt at cost reduction: Milhau got 400 Francs per evening, whereas his substitute, Louis Tharaud, got merely 60.)
For the 1909/10 season, Milhau was hired by the Théâtre Graslin in Nantes, where he sang a role beyond his usual repertory:
Vinicius in Quo vadis by Nouguès. In autumn 1910, Milhau should have become part of the troupe of the Opéra de
Marseille, but soon renounced his contract because he was ill all the time and could not sing.
In January 1912, he scored a big success as Éléazar in Oran and had to repeat "Rachel, quand du Seigneur"; he was
Éléazar again in early March in Mascara. He was less favorably reviewed in the same role in Lyon in October 1912, where he
was a member of the troupe for that season (grandiloquently announced as "M. Milhau, ténor dramatique de la Scala de Milan").
He fought the entire First World War, and was demobilized only in February 1919, which interrupted his career for four and a half years.
He returned to the scene in Nancy, still in February 1919, as Éléazar.
In fall 1920, somewhat unexpectedly, he showed up in New York, among the guest singers of the San Carlo Opera Company. This is the last
reference that I could find to Charles Milhau, and I can't say what became of him after that.
References:
- Annuaire des artistes et de l'enseignement dramatique et musical, 1906
- Comoedia, 31 October 1910
- La Dépêche, 21 October 1908, 20 January, 28 March & 14 April 1909
- L'Éclair, 17 September 1903
- L'Est Républicain, 24 February 1919
- Le Grand Écho du Nord de la France, 28 March 1900
- Journal amusant, 19 September 1908
- Journal des débats politiques et littéraires, 21 July 1904
- Lyon Universitaire, 11 October 1912
- Le Midi, 16 April & 1 September 1905
- Le Monde Artiste, 17 December 1905
- New York Clipper, 8 September 1920
- Le Petit Marseillais, 12 October 1905
- Le Petit Meridional, 12 October 1907
- Le Petit Oranais, 31 January 1912
- Le Phare de la Loire, 30 October & 23 November 1909
- Le Progrès, 24 February 1912
- Le Salut Public, 18 October 1912
- Le Télégramme, 27 May 1908
- Le Temps, 26 July 1904
- La Vie Mondaine à Nice, 23 November 1905
- La Vie Montpelliéraine, 5 November 1899, 16 April 1905, 12 August 1906 & 17 February 1907
Picture source
