Amable Courtecuisse (; 29 December 1823 – 7 September 1873), whose stage name was Désiré (), was a French baritone, who is particularly remembered for creating many comic roles in the works of the French operetta composer Jacques Offenbach.Kutsch, K. J.; Riemens, Leo. Großes Sängerlexikon (fourth edition, in German), p. 1130. K. G. Saur, Munich, 2003. .Gänzl K. The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre. Blackwell, Oxford, 1994. .

Life and career He was born in Lille or a nearby village of it, and studied the bassoon,La Salle, Albert de. Histoire des Bouffes-parisiens. Librairie Nouvelle, Paris, 1860, p64: In Les Petits Prodiges (1857), he played a solo, alongside an eccentric violin solo from Tayau and one on the cello by Léonce. singing, and declamation at the Lille Conservatory. His first appearances were at small theatres in Belgium and northern France beginning in 1845.

In 1847, he arrived at the Théâtre Montmartre in Paris where he met Hervé. He asked Hervé to provide him with a musical sketch (drawn from Cervantes' novel Don Quixote), in which the tall and thin Hervé as the Don was pitted against the short and plump Désiré as Sancho Pança. The sketch inspired what was later dubbed the first French operetta, Hervé's Don Quichotte et Sancho Pança, which premiered in 1848 at Adolphe Adam's Théâtre National at the Cirque Olympique, but with Joseph Kelm, instead of Désiré, as Sancho Pança.Traubner, Richard. Operetta — a theatrical history. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1983. .Walsh TJ. Second Empire Opera – The Théâtre-Lyrique Paris 1851-1870, pp. 359–360. John Calder Ltd, London, 1981.

In subsequent years Désiré appeared in operetta theatres in Lille, Brussels, and Marseille. He also became a star at Hervé's Parisian Folies-Concertantes (later the Folies-Nouvelles).

Finally he was engaged by Jacques Offenbach for the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, where Désiré made his brilliantly successful debut on 16 May 1857 in Vent-du-Soir, ou l'horrible festin. Thereafter until 1873 he remained one of the star actors of Offenbach's company, appearing in many of the premieres of Offenbach's most famous operettas. His greatest success was his unforgettable portrayal of the role of Jupiter in Orpheus in the Underworld, which premiered on 21 October 1858.

Désiré also appeared at other Parisian theatres, including the Théâtre des Variétés, the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, and the Athénée-Musicale, and also worked with the French operetta composer Charles Lecocq.

At the end of his career Désiré became increasingly addicted to alcohol and died, abandoned and in poverty, in Asnières-sur-Seine. He died on 7 September 1873, aged 49, in his house in Courbevoie.Acte de décès No. 240 (vues 64-65), registre des décès de Courbevoie (1873) sur le site des Archives départementales des Hauts-de-Seine. A large congregation consisting much of theatrical Paris (including Ludovic Halévy, Hector Crémieux, Charles Lecocq, Berthelier, Léonce, Hyacinthe, Baron and Anna JudicWith the exception of Offenbach.), attended his funeral on 10 September.Le Figaro, 11 septembre 1873, p.3 La Presse, 11 septembre 1873, p.3

Roles created Works by Offenbach unless otherwise noted:

1857: Vent-du-Soir in Vent du soir, ou L’horrible festinYon, Jean-Claude. Jacques Offenbach. Editions Gallimard, Paris, 2000. 1857: Pigeonneau in Une demoiselle en loterie 1858: Mme Madou in Mesdames de la Halle 1858: Dig-dig in La chatte métamorphosée en femme 1858: Jupiter in Orpheus in the Underworld (in French) 1859: Le marquis de Criquebœuf in L'omelette à la Follembuche by Léo Delibes 1859: Golo in Geneviève de Brabant 1860: Pan in Daphnis et Chloé 1860: Grétry in Le musicien de l'avenir 1861: Maître Fortunio in La chanson de Fortunio 1861: Cornarino Cornarini in Le pont des soupirs 1861: Choufleuri in M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le . . . 1862: Adolphe Dunanan in Le voyage de MM Dunanan père & fils 1862: Cristobal in Bavard et bavarde 1863: Fritzchen in Lischen et Fritzchen 1863: Bertolucci in Il signor Fagotto 1864: Jol-Hiddin in Les géorgiennes 1864: Cabochon in Jeanne qui pleure et Jean qui rit 1864: Van Croquesec in Le serpent à plumes by DelibesDelibes, Leo (1876). Le serpent à plumes (piano-vocal score). Paris: Colombier. IMSLP file #31045. 1865: Vautendon in Les bergers 1866: undetermined role in Didon by G. BlanginiParsons, Charles H. Opera Premieres: An Index of Casts/Performances, p. 406 Volume 15 in the series The Mellen Opera Index. The Edward Mellen Press, Lewiston, New York, 1993. .Blangini fils, probably the son of Joseph Marie Felix Blangini (see Short biography at Wikisource). 1868: Tien-Tien in Fleur-de-Thé by Charles Lecocq 1869: undetermined role in L’écossais de Chatou by Léo Delibes 1869: Cabriolo in La princesse de Trébizonde 1869: Rafaël in La diva 1869: undetermined role in Le rajah de Mysore by Lecocq 1869: Cabriolo in La princesse de Trébizonde (revised 3-act version) 1871: Balabrelock in Boule-de-Neige 1872: Raab in La timbale d'argent by Léon Vasseur 1873: undetermined role in La petite reine by Vasseur

In 1867 he also appeared at the Théâtre des Nouveautés as Sganarelle in La statue du commandeur.

References

This article incorporates some material re-edited from French Wikipedia

External links Obituary in The Era Almnack, 1874 by Edward Ledger (at Google Books)