Mécène Marié de l'Isle

Born Claude-Marie-Mécène Marié de l'Isle in Château-Chinon, he went to Paris to study music at the Conservatoire, where he won first prize for double-bass in 1830.

In 1840 he had the distinction of portraying Tonio in the world premiere of Donizetti’s La fille du régiment.

He began to experience vocal difficulties in his upper register in the mid-1840s and decided to retrain his voice as a baritone.

While there he sang the title role of Guillaume Tell, Nevers in Les Huguenots, Alphonse in La favorite, and Raimbaud in Le comte Ory.

His pupils included his three daughters, notably Célestine Galli-Marié, who created the title role in the premiere of Bizet's Carmen.