CLAIRVAL
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Clairval, real name Jean-Baptiste Guignard, (27 April 1735, Étampes – 1795, Paris) was an 18th-century French operatic singer (tenor), comedian and librettist.
He played with the same authority drama, comedy and opera, in a considerable number of roles. Among the most notable were:
1765: Tom Jones (part of Tom Jones) by Philidor
1765: La fée Urgèle (part of Robert, a knight) by Egidio Duni
1768: Le Huron (an officer), by Grétry
1769: Le tableau parlant (part of Pierrot), by Grétry
1769: Le déserteur (part of Montauciel), by Monsigny
1771: Zémire et Azor, (part of Azor), by Grétry
This opéra comique was a version of Beauty and the Beast imagined by Marmontel, where Clairval had to become ugly; but he refused to don the first scheduled disguise: an animal fur. This role was one of his best success.
1773: L'Erreur d'un moment (part of Lucas), by Monvel
1776: Les mariages samnites (part of Agathis), by Grétry
1778: L'amant jaloux, (part of Don Alonze), by Grétry
1779: Aucassin et Nicolette (Aucassin), by Grétry
1781: Les maris corrigés (part of Germival), comedy in verse by La Chabeaussière
1784: Richard Cœur-de-Lion, (part of Blondel, in which he excelled), by Grétry
1785: L'amant statue, (part of M. Michu), by Nicolas Dalayrac
1791: L'aristocrate ou le convalescent de qualité, by Fabre d'Églantine (28 January)
This role earned Clairval the nickname "Molé of the Comédie-italienne".
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