Léon Melchissédec

[3] Having sung Capulet in the first performance of Roméo et Juliette at the Opéra-Comique in 1873, he sang Mercutio when it transferred to the repertory of the Opéra.

In 1913, he published a treatise on singing entitled ‘Pour Chanter  : ce qu’il faut savoir’.

[8] According to Michael Scott, due to his age at the time of recording in the early 1900s these may only give a partial impression of his singing.

[9] However, an unusually well-recorded 1899 Berliner disc of the "Air du tambour-major" from Ambroise Thomas's Le caïd, which can also be heard at the Bibliothèque nationale de France's website, shows that even in his mid-fifties he still had a ringing high baritone, a brilliant trill, and extremely precise passage-work that justifies his reputation.

[2] After his death his wife left his archive to the Musée d'Art Roger Quilliot in Clermont Ferrand.