Franz Paul

Paul FRANZ 30 novembre 1876 - 20 avril 1950.
(disques Pathé-saphir circa 1919-22)
(Collection et report Jean NIROUET)

01 - La Damnation de Faust: Nature immense (Berlioz) Pat N°0258, 1950
02 - Roméo et Juliette: Salut tombeau (Gounod) Pat N°0265, 2036
03 - Le Cid: O noble lame étincellante (Massenet) Pat N°0258, 1951
04 - Le Cid: O souverain ô juge ô père Pat N°0260, 1957 (Massenet)
05 - Hérodiade: Ne pouvant réprimer les élans de la foi: Air de Jean (Massenet) Pat N°0428, 1649
06 - Samson et Dalila: Vois ma misère, Scène de la meule (Saint-Saëns)Pat N°0259, 1954 & 1958
07 - Sigurd: Le bruit des chants s’éteint … Esprits gardiens (Reyer) Pat N°0265, 2033
08 - Sigurd: Un souvenir poignant (Reyer) Pat N°0260, 1949
09 - L’attaque du moulin: Adieux à la forêt (Bruneau) Pat N°0428, 1650
10 - La Fille de Roland: Chanson des épées (Rabaud) Pat N°3162, 1956
11 - Hymne à la France (Busser, poème de Victor Hugo) Pat N°3162, 1955
12 - Soleil de la France (Busser) Pat N°0287, 2491

WAGNER en français
13 - Lohengrin: Récit du Gral “Au bord lointain ” Pat N°0429, 1647 & 1642
14 - Lohengrin: Adieux de Lohengrin “Mon cygne aimé” Pat N°0287, 2475
15 - Tannhauser: Récit de Rome “L’âme brisée, ” Pat N°0278, 2372 & 2373
16 - La Walkyrie: Plus d’hiver, déjà le printemps “Chant du Printemps” Pat N°0266, 2184
17 - Siegfried: Nothung glaive rêvé “Chant de la Forge” Pat N°0266, 2180
18 - Le Crépuscule des dieux: Brunnhilde, sainte fiancée “Mort de Siegfried” Pat N°0286, 2494
19 - Tristan et Isolde: Où Tristan va se rendre Pat N°0286, 2376
20 - Les Maîtres chanteurs: L’aube vermeille Pat N°0272, 2238
21 - Parsifal: Une arme seule est sûre Pat N°0272, 2236


CRITIC REVIEW:

"Among the Wagnerian tenors of French descent, two - Charles Dalmorès and Paul Franz - have achieved legendary status. For me, the voice of the dramatic tenor Paul Franz is one of the finest of all French voices that emerged in the years immediately prior to the outbreak of WW I. He made a sizeable quantity of recordings for HMV, Pathé and Columbia between 1909 and 1932. He possessed a dark and powerful voice, with fully blended registers and a pronounced expressivity. His Wagner singing is equally outstanding as that of Jaques Urlus and Lauritz Melchior. The voice itself was unforced, at once lyrical and strong, with broad, well-bounded phrases. Some electrical recordings, made when he was more than 50, still show him at the height of his abilities. Dramatic tenors at the turn of the century managed to sing - apart from the heavy parts - more lyrical roles. In all Wagnerian excerpts (PARSIFAL) and in Sigurd's aria 'Un souvenir poignant' he is at his absolute best. These recordings should be thoroughly studied by every student trying to tackle dramatic parts.

His height, his build, also the size of his voice suit him to the great heroic roles...The voice is admirable, it is at once very large and of a charming delicacy, at times even caresses. He has good pronunciation, his phrasing is expansive, perhaps on occasion a little too much so...Above all he has that great quality, his is a natural voice; he sings without effort and without having to fake a brazen effect, for his is a clarion voice from bottom to top.

In 1908, Franz won a competition for amateur singers and immediately attracted the attention ot the director of the Grand Opéra in Paris. His debut that same year as Lohengrin in Nantes was a remarkable success and he subsequently joined the ensemble of the Grand Opéra, where he remained as an admired member until 1938. He was not only compared with Jean de Reszke but also with the great Ernest van Dyck and Charles Rousselière. Apart from his extraordinary vocal qualities, Paul Franz also enchanted his audiences with his impressive stage appearance. He was much acclaimed at Covent Garden where he sang between 1910 - 1914 (Raoul, Julien in LOUISE, Radames and Otello). In 1915 he appeared at La Scala and in 1918 at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires. After his stage farewell he was appointed a professor at the Conservatoire National de Paris."

- Andrea Shum-Binder, subito-cantabile