The biographical information I have found on Marcel Journet has been shadowy
and contradictory. He reportedly studied singing in Paris and according to one source, made his operatic début at
Béziers in 1891 in
La favorite.
He sang at La Monnaie from 1894-1900, then was based in Paris, appearing both
at the Opéra and the Opéra-Comique, where he sang in the French
première of Puccini’s
La bohème.
He made his Covent Garden début in 1897 as the Duke of Mendoza in
d’Erlanger’s
Inez Mendo.
That season he sang the Landgrave in a French version of
Tannhäuser;
he returned regularly until 1907 and again in 1927 and 1928. He was engaged at
the Metropolitan Opera, 1900-1908 (début as Ramfis) where he sang
mostly secondary roles; he didn’t fare much better in his early years at Covent Garden (1897-1907).
His Paris Opéra debut was as the King in Lohengrin in
1908 and sang there every season till 1914 then returned in 1919, 1921-23, and
1926-30. He was the leading bass at Monte Carlo (1914-1920) and the primo basso
at La Scala (1917-1928) where on May 1, 1924 he created Simon Magus
in Boito’s posthumous
Nerone.
He appeared frequently in other centers, including
Buenos Aires, Chicago, Madrid and Barcelona.
Endowed with a powerful, resonant voice with a range which allowed him to sing such baritone parts as Tonio and Scarpia, Journet had a large repertory of French and Italian roles and many Wagnerian ones including Klingsor, Hans Sachs, Wotan, Titurel and Gurnemanz.
Why was Journet so much more successful after World War I, when he was in his fifties, when most voices begin to decline? Victor Girard comments on the development of Journet’s voice:
Although biographical evidence is lacking, I believe that Journet, sometime during World War I, restudied the voice. His voice prior to the War was one essentially of two registers: his low voice that of a bass and his middle voice that of a baritone. The upper third of his range was virtually non-existent: covered, unfocused, often shouted. After the War, however, the voice was completely integrated from bottom to top, the upper third (or fourth) no longer shouted but placed. It becomes understandable why at Monte Carlo in 1919 he first essayed such high baritone roles as Tonio in I Pagliacci and Scarpia in Tosca. And I now can fully understand Max de Schauensee who, having heard Journet during the 1920s, wrote that Journet’s voice “... sparkled like a great red jewel.”And this final note from the Marston CD of the remastered Gramophone recordings:
One of the most remarkable singers of the first third of our century was bass Marcel Journet. Like a fine wine and unlike almost any other singer, Journet improved with age. As a favorite of Toscanini, Journet premiered in Boito’s Nerone and sang many standard roles throughout the 20s when Journet was well into his fifties. During this late period, Journet’s high range increased to almost baritone-proportions and his vocal range spanned from a Low E to a High G. His recording career was no less exceptional: Journet was one of the most prolific basses in the 78 era.