Agustarello Affre (23 October 1858 - 27 December 1931) was a Frenchoperatictenor. He possessed a powerful, firm and exceptionally beautiful voice which garnered him the nickname the "FrenchTamagno" in comparison to the great Italian tenor. He was one of the leading operatic tenors in Paris from 1890 to 1911. He spent the last years of his career singing and directing operas in the United States. AfterWorld War I, he lived in retirement in France.
Born Auguste Affre inSaint-Chinian, Affre was trained at theConservatoire de Toulouse and theConservatoire de Paris. He studied singing withEdmond Duvernoy andPierre Gailhard.[1] After singing in theatres in the French provinces, he made his debut in Paris at theOpéra in 1890 as Edgardo inGaetano Donizetti'sLucia di Lammermoor oppositeNellie Melba in the title role, who also made her debut.[citation needed] He remained a leading tenor at that opera house for the next 20 years, portraying such roles as Arnold Melchtal inWilliam Tell, Belmonte inDie Entführung aus dem Serail, the Duke of Mantua inRigoletto, Eléazar inLa Juive, Fernand inLa favorite, Jean de Leyde inLe prophète, Radames inAida, Raoul de Nangis inLes Huguenots, Renaud inGluck'sArmide, Vasco da Gama inL'Africaine, and the title roles inLohengrin andSigurd.[1] He created the role of the Touranien prisoner in the world premiere ofJules Massenet'sLe mage in 1891.
Outside of Paris, Affre appeared as a guest artist at theOpéra de Marseille,Opéra National de Lyon, and theThéâtre du Grand Cercle in Aix-les-Bains. In 1900 he performed atLa Monnaie in Brussels. In 1909 he appeared at theRoyal Opera House in London as Samson inSamson et Dalila and in the title role ofGounod'sFaust. He recorded extensively forPathé, including the roles of Don José inGeorges Bizet'sCarmen (1911) and Roméo in Gounod'sRoméo et Juliette (1912) in the company's "Le Théâtre chez soi" ("Your Theater at Home") full-length opera and drama series. In 1911 he moved to the United States where he was heard in operas in New Orleans, San Francisco, and in Havana. He became director of theFrench Opera House in New Orleans in 1913 when it came under the ownership ofTulane University, remaining there until 1915. He died inCagnes-sur-Mer in 1931 at the age of 73.[1] He is buried at thePère Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.[2]
In contemporary sources, including those written by the tenor himself, his stage name is spelled "Gustarello". The spelling "Agustarello" appears only posthumously, and is presumably an error. In contemporary reviews, on record labels and in the tenor's own spoken introductions to many of his sound recordings, he is simply "Monsieur Affre".
