Victor Maurel
Marseille, 1848 - 1923, New York
Maurel studied voice at the School of Music in Marseille then continued at the Paris Conservatoire, where in 1867 he won first prize. In the following year he made his debut at the Paris Opéra as the Count de Nevers in Giacomo Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots, and thereafter he appeared at La Scala, Milan, in the premiere of Antonio Carlos Gomes’ Il Guarany and at Covent Garden, London, in English premieres of Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, and The Flying Dutchman.
In 1873 Maurel made his U.S. debut in the American premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida in New York City. He then withdrew from the stage before rejoining the Paris Opéra in 1879, where he remained one of its reigning baritones for 15 years. Maurel’s most memorable achievements were as Iago and Falstaff in the respective world premieres of Verdi’s Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893). He sang at the Metropolitan Opera in 1894 and again in 1899. After an attempt at legitimate acting he returned to the operatic stage in 1904, but five years later retired to New York City to become a singing teacher.
Maurel was the author of several books on singing and staging operas as well as an autobiography, Dix Ans de carrière (1897).
CITE
Contributor:
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica
Article Title:
Victor Maurel
Website Name:
Encyclopædia Britannica
Publisher:
Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.
Date Published:
December 16, 2009
URL:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Victor-Maurel
Access Date:
December 28, 2017
I.S.
Person TypeIndividual
Last Updated8/7/24
Munich, 1864 - 1949, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
La Côte-Saint-André, France, 1803 - 1869, Paris
Votkinsk, Russia, 7 May 1840 - 6 November 1893, Saint Petersburg
