MolinierInfrequently spelled Molinié (Tamvaco 2000, vol. 2, p. 740). was the stage name of François Gély (1807–1859), a French operatic baritone who mostly performed minor roles at the Paris Opéra.Tamvaco 2000, vol. 2, p. 740.
He made his professional debut without much success on 15 February 1826 with the Opéra-Comique at the Salle Feydeau as Alibour in Méhul's Euphrosine et Coradin.
He first appeared at the Paris Opéra on 2 October 1837 as an emergency replacement in a leading bass role, Pietro in Daniel Auber's La muette de Portici. He sang with great emotion, but was thought to have overextended his resources. However, having rescued the performance (and the receipts), he was rewarded by engagement as a company regular, and continued to sing there until 1854. During this period he created a number of minor roles, as noted in the list below. He also performed other minor roles, such as a herald-in-arms in Meyerbeer's Robert le diable, the Comte de Nevers in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots, Rodolphe and Melcthal in Rossini's Guillaume Tell, and Pharaon in Rossini's Moïse.Tamvaco 2000, pp. 774 (Rodolphe), 816 (herald-in-arms), 818 (Melchtal, Pharaon); Wolff 1962, p. 118 (Comte de Nevers).
Roles created
1838: Lorenzo in Guido et Ginevra by Halévy 1838: Pompeo in Benvenuto Cellini by Berlioz 1839: Pikler in Le lac des fées by AuberTamvaco 2000, p. 869. 1840: A Christian in Les martyrs by Donizetti 1840: A lord in La favorite by Donizetti 1843: A student in Charles VI by Halévy 1844: Randolph in Marie Stuart by Louis Niedermeyer 1847: A herald in Jérusalem by Giuseppe Verdi 1849: The herald in Le prophète by MeyerbeerWolff 1962, p. 177; Parsons 1993, p. 877. 1852: A lord in Le Juif errant by Halévy
References Notes
Sources Parsons, Charles H. (1993). Opera Premieres: An Index of Casts/Performers: K–Z, Volume 16 in the series The Mellen Opera Index. Lewiston, New York: The Edward Mellen Press. . Tamvaco, Jean-Louis (2000). Les Cancans de l'Opéra. Chroniques de l'Académie Royale de Musique et du théâtre, à Paris sous les deux restorations (2 volumes, in French). Paris: CNRS Editions. . Wolff, Stéphane (1962). L'Opéra au Palais Garnier (1875–1962). Paris: Deposé au journal L'Entr'acte . Paris: Slatkine (1983 reprint) .