Michel Sénéchal

Michel Sénéchal (11 February 1927 – 1 April 2018) was a French tenor, particularly associated with French and Italian character roles in a repertory ranging from Baroque to contemporary works. Michel Sénéchal was born in Paris and sang as a child in a church choir in Taverny. He made his vocal studies at the Paris Conservatory, and made his debut at La Monnaie in Brussels in 1950, where he would remain until 1952. Upon his return in France he made his debut in Paris, at the Paris Opéra and the Opéra-Comique, where he sang the lead tenor roles in opera such as La dame blanche, Les Indes galantes, Il matrimonio segreto, The Barber of Seville, Le comte Ory, etc. He sang at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in Rameau's Platée for his debut there in 1956. He also appeared at the Vienna State Opera, the festivals of Salzburg and Glyndebourne, in Mozart roles such as Ottavio and Tamino. Sénéchal also appeared regularly in operettas, especially by Offenbach, such as Orphée aux enfers, La Vie parisienne, La Périchole, where his comic talent was shown to fine effect. As the years went by Sénéchal started concentrating on character roles such as Basilio in Nozze di Figaro, Goro in Madama Butterf...