Lucien Muratore (29 August 1876 – 16 July 1954, in Paris) was a French actor and operatic dramatic tenor, particularly associated with the French repertory.
Life and career
Lucien Muratore was born Marseille to Italian parents from Piedmont. He trained first as a cornist, and later as an actor. He made his debut at the Odéon theatre in Paris, where he played opposite such actresses as Sarah Bernhardt and Réjane. He then studied at the Paris Music Conservatory, and made his operatic debut in 1902, at the Opéra-Comique, creating the King in Reynaldo Hahn's La carmélite.
Muratore retired from the stage in 1931. He was married first to soprano Marguerite Bériza, and later to soprano Lina Cavalieri, with whom he appeared in a silent movie, Manon Lescaut, in 1914.
In 1944 Muratore was for a few weeks Director of the Opéra-Comique but was removed on the Liberation of Paris.[1]
His art of singing was at times almost overshadowed by his immense talent as an actor and elegance on stage.
His students included Kenneth Neate, to whom he gave some of his own costumes for Don José (Bizet's Carmen).[2]
Roland Mancini and Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, (orig. H. Rosenthal and J. Warrack, French edition), Guide de l’opéra, Les indispensables de la musique (Fayard, 1995). ISBN2-213-59567-4