Ansseau, Fernand
Ansseau, Fernand
Ansseau, Fernand, Belgian tenor; b. Boussu-Bois, near Mons, March 6, 1890; d. Brussels, May 1, 1972. He was a pupil of Demest in Brussels. In 1913 he made his operatic debut as Jean in Hérodiade in Dijon. He made his first appearance at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels in 1918. From 1919 to 1928 he sang at London’s Covent Garden, where his roles included Faust, Romeo, Massenet’s Des Grieux, Canio, Don José, and Cavaradossi. He also sang in Paris at the Opéra-Comique (1920–21), where he appeared as Orfeo, and at the Opéra (1922–34), where his roles included Samson, Tannhàuser, and Lohengrin. From 1923 to 1928 he likewise appeared at the Chicago Civic Opera. He sang regularly at the Théâtre de la Monnaie from 1930 until his retirement in 1939. In later years, he was active as a voice teacher in Brussels. Ansseau was especially admired for his lyric roles, but in later years he also won success in heavier roles.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire