His family came originally from south-west France, so the similarity of his name to Guy Cazenave's is no mere coincidence.
He studied engineering and music (wild combination!) in Germany. Upon return to Spain, he chose singing over engineering, and
continued his vocal training with Ignacio Tabuyo. In 1913, he made his debut as Almaviva in Bilbao, where he also sang
Massenet's des Grieux the following year.
For about ten years, he was a successful lyrical tenor at the Gran Teatro in Madrid, the Liceu in Barcelona and the São
Carlos in Lisbon (in roles like Alfredo, Gounod's Faust or Cavaradossi). In 1923, he sang the world premiere of Vives'
Doña Francisquita at the Teatro Apolo in Madrid, and was very successful at the same theater in Marina.
For the rest of his career, he focused entirely on zarzuela, became popular in that genre and sang in several world premieres.
He enjoyed the same popularity after relocating to Argentina, hired by the impresario Francisco Delgado. De Casenave appeared
at the zarzuela theaters of Buenos Aires (Teatro Victoria, Teatro El Mayo, Teatro El Nacional, La Comedia) as well as in the
Argentinean provinces (Rosario, Córdoba, Tucumán, La Rioja) and in Mexico City.
When his career was over, he stayed in Argentina as a businessman and a straight theater actor.
Reference 1: Kutsch & Riemens; reference 2: Aria CD booklet ("50 tenors espanyols")
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