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Alain Vanzo (April 2, 1928 – January 27, 2002) was a Frenchopera singer andcomposer, one of few Frenchtenors of international standing in the postwar era. He, along with such singers asHenri Legay and the CanadianLéopold Simoneau, represented a traditional French lyric style during a period when larger Italian and German vocal styles had become popular.
Vanzo was born inMonte Carlo,Monaco, the son of a Mexican father and a French mother. He started singing at a young age in the church choir. At 18, he started singing popular songs with a small band called "La Bastringue". He sang at theThéâtre du Châtelet, during the 1951–52 season, as a double forLuis Mariano in the operettaLe Chanteur de Mexico, while taking voice lessons with Rolande Darcoeur in Paris. His breakthrough came in 1954, when he participated in a singing contest atCannes, and won thefirst prize.
Vanzo was then immediately invited to sing at theOpéra-Comique and at thePalais Garnier, quickly establishing himself in the standard French lyric repertory in roles such as Nadir inLes pêcheurs de perles, Gérald inLakmé,Faust, Roméo inRoméo et Juliette, Vincent inMireille, des Grieux inManon, etc. He also sang the Italian repertory as the Duke inRigoletto, Alfredo inLa Traviata, Rodolfo inLa bohème. He won great acclaim at the Palais Garnier in 1960, as Edgardo inLucia di Lammermoor, oppositeJoan Sutherland who was making her debut there. This was the beginning of his international career, appearing at many of the major opera houses in Europe, theRoyal Opera House in London,[1][2]La Monnaie in Brussels, theLiceu in Barcelona, theVienna State Opera, etc. Vanzo also appeared in North America, on tour with the Paris Opera, singingFaust, and in South America at theTeatro Colón inLes contes d'Hoffmann. He sang atCarnegie Hall in New York, as Gennaro, in the 1965 concert version ofLucrezia Borgia, oppositeMontserrat Caballé.
As the years went by, Vanzo extended his repertory to more dramatic roles, such as Arrigo in the original French version ofI Vespri Siciliani, Adorno inSimon Boccanegra, Cavaradossi inTosca, Robert inRobert le Diable, Raoul inLes Huguenots, Mylio inLe roi d'Ys, and became internationally renowned as one of the best exponents of the role ofBenvenuto Cellini andWerther.
Vanzo never officially retired, singing well into his sixties, mostly in recital, and appearing frequently on French television. He left relatively few commercial recordings, the most famous beingLakmé, opposite Joan Sutherland, and conducted byRichard Bonynge.
Vanzo also composed, writing songs and two major works, the operettaPêcheur d'Etoile which premiered atLille, in 1972, and the lyrical dramaLes Chouans, which premiered atAvignon, in 1982.
Alain Vanzo died in Paris on January 27, 2002 of complications following astroke. He was 73.
