Levasseur, Nicolas (-Prosper)
Levasseur, Nicolas (-Prosper)
Levasseur, Nicolas (-Prosper), prominent French bass; b. Bresles, March 9, 1791; d. Paris, Dec. 6, 1871. In 1807 he entered the Paris Cons., where he studied in Garat’s singing class in 1811. He made his debut as Osman Pacha in Grétry’s La Caravane du Caire at the Paris Opéra (Oct. 14, 1813). He made his Lond-+on debut in Mayr’s Adeasia ed Alderano at the King’s Theatre (Jan. 10, 1815), and then returned to the Paris Opéra as an understudy until he made his debut at the Théâtre-Italien as Almaviva (Oct. 5, 1819). He appeared in the premiere of Meyerbeer’s Margherita d’Anjou at Milan’s La Scala (Nov. 14, 1820), and then returned to the Théâtre-Italien. In 1828 he rejoined the Paris Opéra, establishing himself as its principal bass; among the roles he created there were Bertram in Robert le diable (1831), Brogni in La Juive (1835), Marcel in Les Huguenots (1836), and Balthazar in La Favorite (1840). He left the Opéra in 1845, but was recalled by Meyerbeer to sing the role of Zacharie in the premiere of Le Prophète (1849); he retired from the stage in 1853. He was a prof, at the Paris Cons. (1841–69). He was made a Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in 1869.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire