Singher, Martial (Jean-Paul)

Singher, Martial (Jean-Paul), noted French baritone and pedagogue; b. Oloron-Ste. Marie, Aug. 14, 1904; d. Santa Barbara, Calif., March 10, 1990. He received his education as a public-school teacher in Dax, and at the École Normale de Toulouse and the École Normale Supérieure de St. Cloud. He then studied voice with André Gresse at the Paris Cons. (premier prix for singing, 1929; premier prix for opera and opéra-comique singing, 1930; Grand Prix Osiris de l’Institute de France, 1930); also studied voice with Juliette Fourestier. He made his operatic debut in Amsterdam as Orestes in Iphigénie en Tauride on Nov. 14, 1930; then joined the Paris Opéra, remaining with it until 1941; also sang at the Opéra-Comique. On Jan. 10, 1940, he married Margareta Busch, daughter of the conductor Fritz Busch. He went to the U.S. in 1941; made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. on Dec. 10, 1943, as Dapertutto in Les Contes d’Hoffmann; subsequently sang the roles of the Count in Le nozze di Figaro, Lescaut in Manon, and all 4 baritone roles in Les Contes d’Hoffmann; remained on the roster, with some interruptions, until 1959. He also sang with the leading orchs. of the U.S., and appeared widely in song recitals. He was on the faculty of the Mannes Coll. of Music in N.Y. (1951–62) and the Curtis Inst. of Music in Philadelphia (1955–68); then was director of the voice and opera dept., and was the opera producer at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara (1962–81). His students included Donald Gramm, John Reardon, James King, Louis Quilico, Judith Biegen, Benita Valente, and Jeannine Altmeyer. He was a particularly distinguished interpreter of the French operatic and song repertoire. He wrote a book useful to vocalists aspiring to an operatic career, An Interpretive Guide to Operatic Arias: A Handbook for Singers, Coaches, Teachers, and Students (1983).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire