Michel Sénéchal Photo

Michel Sénéchal

Acting

0.1 Popularity Feb 11, 1927 (91 years old) Paris, France

Michel Sénéchal (11 February 1927 – 1 April 2018) was a French tenor, particularly associated with French and Italian character roles in a repertory ranging from Baroque to contemporary works.

Michel Sénéchal was born in Paris and sang as a child in a church choir in Taverny. He made his voca...

Biography

Michel Sénéchal (11 February 1927 – 1 April 2018) was a French tenor, particularly associated with French and Italian character roles in a repertory ranging from Baroque to contemporary works.

Michel Sénéchal was born in Paris and sang as a child in a church choir in Taverny. He made his vocal studies at the Paris Conservatory, and made his debut at La Monnaie in Brussels in 1950, where he would remain until 1952. Upon his return in France he made his debut in Paris, at the Paris Opéra and the Opéra-Comique, where he sang the lead tenor roles in opera such as La dame blanche, Les Indes galantes, Il matrimonio segreto, The Barber of Seville, Le comte Ory, etc. He sang at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in Rameau's Platée for his debut there in 1956. He also appeared at the Vienna State Opera, the festivals of Salzburg and Glyndebourne, in Mozart roles such as Ottavio and Tamino.

Sénéchal also appeared regularly in operettas, especially by Offenbach, such as Orphée aux enfers, La Vie parisienne, La Périchole, where his comic talent was shown to fine effect. As the years went by Sénéchal started concentrating on character roles such as Basilio in Nozze di Figaro, Goro in Madama Butterfly, the Holy Fool in Boris Godunov, Monsieur Triquet in Eugene Onegin, Guillot de Morfontaine in Manon, and the four servants in Les contes d'Hoffmann, which were his debut roles at the Metropolitan Opera on 8 March 1982. Sénéchal took part in the creation of contemporary works such as the roles of Fabien in Marcel Landowski's Montségur and Pope Leo X in Konrad Boehmer's Doctor Faustus. He remained active on stage until late in life, appearing in performance into the early years of the 21st century.

He began teaching at "L'École d'art lyrique" of the Paris Opéra in 1979, and was eventually named director of the school. He can be heard in several recordings, notably in La dame blanche, Mireille, and Thais, made in his prime, in the early 1960s.

Michel Sénéchal died in Eaubonne on 1 April 2018, aged 91.

Source: Article "Michel Sénéchal" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Filmography 11

2003
Les Contes d'Hoffmann Movie

as Andrès / Cochenille / Frantz / Pittichinaccio

2002
Rusalka Movie

as The Gamekeeper

2001
Manon Movie

as Guillot de Morfontaine

2000
La Belle Hélène Movie

as Ménélas, roi de Sparte

1996
Andrea Chénier Movie

as Incredible

1988
Eugene Onegin Movie

as Monsieur Triquet (singing voice)

1988
La Bohème Movie

as Parpignol (singing voice)

1974
Madama Butterfly Movie

as Goro

1973
Otello Movie

as Roderigo

1972

Photos 1

Michel Sénéchal Photo

Personal Details

Known For Acting
Gender Male
Birthday February 11, 1927 (91 years old)
Died April 01, 2018
Place of Birth Paris, France
Years Active 1966 - 2003
Popularity 0.1
Career Stats
11 Total Credits
10 Movie Roles
1 TV Roles
1 Photos