Charles Reutlinger
1860-1870
Jean-Baptiste Faure, baritone

Carte de visite
Paul Frecker
Jean-Baptiste Faure (15 January, 1830 - 9 November, 1914)
 
French baritone, Jean-Baptiste Faure was born 15 January, 1830. Considered a gifted stage baritone, he excelled in dramatic presentation wth rich resonant and stylish voice. He made his debut at Paris Opera-Comique in 1852 in the Masse opera, "Galathee." He was comfortable in French and Italian operas singing lead roles in "L'Africaine," "Don Carlos," "Hamlet," "La favorite," and "Don Giovanni." Faure married Opera-Comique singer, Constance Caroline Lefebvre.
 
Edouard Manet painted Faure's portrait twice in 1882-3. One of those portraits is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, New York. He was a major patron and collector of Manet and at one time owned sixty-eight paintings by the artist before selling them to Paris dealer, Durand Ruel. Faure's career ended at Paris in 1876 with his final appearance as Hamlet. Manet entered the Salon of 1877 with a portrait depicting Faure as Hamlet. It was reported that Faure was not fond of the painting and considered the pose awkward. He died 9 November, 1914.
 
(Kindly contributed by T. Max Hochstetler, June 2007)
 
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