Strong Ferdinand

See also: Strong

Ferdinand Gaillard was born with Acute-Dead the January 11th 1876.

After having received a solid formation with the academy of Montpellier, it began with the Capitole from Toulouse in the role from Arnold from Guillaume Tell from Rossini. It occurred several times at the Large-Theater of Nimes:

on Wednesday, November 8 1905 in this same role of Arnold of Guillaume Tell.
on Wednesday, November 22, 1905 in the role of Éléazard of Jewish the of Halévy.
on January 31st 1906 in the role of Raoul de Nangis of the Huguenots of Meyerbeer.

It is in 1906 still that one finds it in round with Turin, in Italy. It did not have whereas thirty years and it was the beginning long and brilliant career which carried out it through all France, of Toulouse to Nantes, while passing by the opera of Paris, and beyond the borders, until in Belgium, with Antwerp and Brussels where it interpreted, with the Théâtre of the Currency the Don Carlos of Verdi. With his repertory, one can also add the Faust of Gounod.

All these roles, which it is about Arnold of Guillaume Tell, or of Éléazard of Jewish characterize the voice of fort Ténor, i.e. the capacity to go up until the C Dièse. From this point of view, the career of Ferdinand Gaillard falls under the tradition of XIX century the French opera and illustrates the passion of the public for the vocal feats of ingenuity.

In 1837, Berlioz wrote: " the tenors, with their various registers of mixed sounds, sounds of head and chest, vary between them ad infinitum. Such has only three or four sounds of head, such other in has much more: Rubini has six of them; the majority rise in chest voice only until it; Nourrit gives the so natural one; Duprez C, Haitzinger gave C sharp. All the interest of the resumption of Guillaume Tell lies for the public in this untraceable C ".

Indeed, with the whole beginning of the XXe century, C sharp continued to move crowd. But the passion for the vocal prowesses was obviously related on the visual aspect of the lyric representation and the taste of the public for the magnificence. The Jewish one undoubtedly marked a top in this field. The works interpreted by Ferdinand Gaillard required a whole a setting in imposing scene, a widened orchestra, which announce the processes implemented by Wagner.

These operas are also characterized by the opposition of several groups which forms a powerful principle dramaturgic: Christian against Jewish S in the Jewish one, Protesting S against Catholic S in Huguenots, populates oppressed against oppressor in Guillaume Tell. In all these operas, theatricalness inherent in the liturgy (marriages, crownings, processions, prayers collective), alternate with the scenes intimists.

Lastly, one can note that these operas had already known all an enormous success. The Jewish one had celebrated its 500e representation in 1886. And Huguenots had reached tops with a 1000e representation with the academy of music of Paris in 1903. The selected repertory had thus received the approval of the public of Paris, which was a guarantee of success in province, as testified to it already Théophile Gautier, at the XIX century: “a poet, a singer, an actor that Paris condescended to support of its supreme approval can go everywhere the raised face, it is sure applause of the universe” .

By this repertory, Ferdinand Gaillard thus perpetuated the tradition of the XIX century French grand opera and contributed to make known with the public nîmois works which had made vibrate since decades the spectators of the Parisian theaters. The importance of these representations will better undoubtedly be measured if one thinks that there was no then possibility of recording and that any music, to exist, was to be unceasingly reinterpreted.

It is deceased with Bargemon in the Var the August 25th 1936.

(Text established according to a conference given by Mireille Labrousse in 2003 to the Square of Art in Nimes)

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