After a year of study at the Paris Conservatoire, where his teachers included Charles Bataille, Barnolt made his debut at the Folies-Marigny and further appearances at the Fantaisies-Parisiennes (1866) where he began to take on roles in the trial repertoire.
[2] He sang Remendado in the premiere of Carmen and returned to sing this role at the Opéra-Comique revivals of 1883,[3] 1891, and 1898.
He was on-stage singing Fréderic in Thomas' Mignon the night of the fire at the Salle Favart on 25 May 1887.
[4] At the Opéra-Comique he also sang the roles of Ali-bajou (Le Caïd), Lillas Pastia (Carmen), Dickson (La dame blanche), Bertrand (Le déserteur), Thibaut (Les dragons de Villars), Beppo (Fra Diavolo), Midas (Galathée), le Poète (Louise), Benetto (Le maître de chapelle), Fréderic (Mignon), Basilio (The Marriage of Figaro), Blaise (Le Nouveau Seigneur de village), Cantarelli (Le Pré aux clercs), Guillaume (Richard Coeur-de-lion), Scapin (La Serva Padrona), and Mouck (La statue).
[5] Among thirty Opéra-Comique premieres[1] were: Barnolt also sang in the Paris premieres of Werther (Schmidt) in 1893, Falstaff (Bardolphe) in 1894 and La bohème (Parpignol) 1898.