Pinfire revolver presented in Paris to the operetta singer José Dupuis, signed CH Morisseaux, Liège, Second Empire, circa 1868. From the Philippe Missillier collection, to be auctioned at Giquello Auction House, Drouot - rooms 5-6, on March 6th & 7th, 2025.
Sold out
PHILIPPE MISSILLIER COLLECTION
EARLY TIMES – BOOKS – 17TH-CENTURY FIREARMS
HUNTING ART – PHALERISTICS
18TH AND 19TH CENTURY ARMS – RUSSIAN ART
Friday, March 7, 2025 - 11am to 12pm
AFRICA AND OCEANIA – FAR EAST
Friday, March 7, 2025 - 2pm
ISLAMIC AND INDIAN ART
Drouot - rooms 5-6
EXHIBITION
Tuesday, March 4 from 11am to 6pm
Wednesday, March 5 from 11am to 6pm
Thursday, March 6 from 11am to 12pm
Phone during the exhibition +33(0)1 48 00 20 05
GIQUELLO
Alexandre Giquello
Violette Stcherbatcheff
5, rue La Boétie - 75008 Paris
+33 (0)1 47 42 78 01 - info@giquello.net
o.v.v. approval
no. 2002 389
CONTACT
Claire Richon
+33(0)1 47 70 48 00
c.richon@giquello.net
EXPERT
Bertrand Malvaux, CNES
Lot n° 249 (for sale)
Pinfire revolver offered in Paris to the operetta singer José Dupuis, signed CH Morisseaux, Liège, Second Empire, circa 1868.
In gilded and blued steel. Round barrel with flat top engraved "LE CHEVREUIL, LA BELLE HELENE, LA GRANDE DUCHESSE, LA PERICHOLE, BERBE BLEUE", 8 mm caliber, barrel length 8.4 cm. 6-shot cylinder engraved "UN MARIDAN DU COTON, TOINETTE ET SON CARABINIER, LE PONT DES SOUPIRS, L’INFORTUNEE CAROLINE",
And stamp "EL68" under a crown. Folding trigger. Grip with carved ivory plates in relief of foliage. Total length of revolver 18 cm.
Presented in its walnut case with royal blue velvet interior. Complete with ivory accessories.
Case: L 23 cm; W 15 cm; H 6 cm.
Belgium.
Second Empire, circa 1868.
Very good condition.
€1,000/€1,500
Biography: Lambert-Joseph-Jacques-Édouard Dupuis, known as José Dupuis, born on March 18, 1833 in Liège and died on May 9, 1900 in Nogent-sur-Marne, was a Belgian actor and singer. He was successively married to two actresses, Miss Dantès from the Cirque-Impérial, and Marie Dubois from the Variétés. He retired in 1894 and was buried in the cemetery of Perreux-sur-Marne.
Dominique Ghesquière wrote a biography summarizing the career of this singer (https://theatremusicaloperette.fr/jose-dupuis-1833-1900)
"Moreso than the highlights of his tumultuous life, the immense talent of Hortense Schneider has transcended time, leaving in many memories to this day, the characteristic echo of Offenbach's music and the Parisian theatrical atmosphere of an entire era. The radiant glory that illuminated this diva on the stage of the Second Empire has overshadowed her faithful and remarkable partner José Dupuis. When, on December 17, 1864, this Pâris first stole, the Belle Hélène Schneider, he truly accessed the prodigious career that 'fate' had in store for this young Belgian tenor, henceforth inseparable from the Théâtre des Variétés.
From the Meuse to the Seine
Lambert, Joseph, Jacques Édouard Dupuis was born in Liège on March 18, 1833. His father, Jacques, a drawing teacher, and his mother Marie-Catherine Berleur, enrolled him in school, with the Ignorantins. His education was supplemented by the study of music and singing, revealing a passion for the 'boards' that already seemed to captivate young Joseph's dreams. His beautiful voice quickly allowed him to interpret various songs at social gatherings. At eighteen, he joined an amateur theater group before performing on the 'real' stage of Liège, where he was noticed and hired by the director. Tours – notably to Lausanne and Fribourg – quickly revealed the vocal talents of the novice actor, in search of a true artistic personality that he believed could only be molded in the Parisian theaters... And the budding actor landed in our capital.
Dupuis obtained a contract at the small Théâtre du Luxembourg (Bobino) where he debuted on April 28, 1854, in l'Apprenti: a play with a very fitting name and no less lucky. The young man was appreciated to the point that he stayed in that theater for months. He then learned role after role for often ephemeral creations... Time has erased their titles except of course La Vie de Bohème by Murger and Barrière where the actor gave Schaunard a particularly unique aspect. After the theater, Dupuis still performed in some Parisian cabarets, interpretating, with spirit, popular refrains of the time, thus supplementing the meager pay at the Théâtre du Luxembourg... where one evening, the composer Hervé discovered him and gave him his chance.
─ The Théâtre des Folies-Nouvelles
Among the approximately one hundred and twenty-four lyrical works of Hervé, Mam'zelle Nitouche, Le Petit Faust, and a few other titles still recall his name. However, his musical personality marked the years 1854-55, thanks to his Théâtre des Folies-Nouvelles, on boulevard du Temple. The multitude of irresistible works he produced there successfully showcased this entirely new lyrical-buffo style that Offenbach would soon cultivate in his Bouffes-Parisiens. But for now, looking for a singer, Hervé, a tenor himself, immediately recognized Dupuis' combined talents as an actor and singer and hired him on the spot. Jean et Jeanne, a 'rustic tableau' by Lafont, music by Ancessy, marked his debut at the Folies-Nouvelles on October 9, 1855: "His play, full of joy and frankness, overshadows some vocal weaknesses and his role as Jean ensures a certain success...". The name, voice, and talent of Dupuis - who had traded Joseph for José - quickly became an integral part of this theater where, between fall 1855 and spring 1859, the tenor would create over forty operettas, mostly composed by Hervé.
But in 1856, he was forced to give up his Folies-Nouvelles and leave Paris.
The management, then handled by Messieurs Huart and Altaroche, maintained the lyrical-buffo genre 'birthed' on this stage, becoming a breeding ground for promising talents. Did we not see Dupuis in Deux sous de charbon, the first work of a novice Léo Delibes... or in Le Page de Madame Malbrough, and disguised as the noble lady...? Frédéric Barbier, the composer, would be more forgotten than his librettist, Vierne, a pseudonym then used by a certain Jules Verne...
Through a succession of burlesque characters, we curiously discover the tenor in a prophetic Jugement de Pâris... But we are only in 1859, the year Dupuis marries the actress Marguerite Abat... and the year the Folies Nouvelles pass to Virginie Déjazet who lends her name to the theater, whose billboards abandon operetta for vaudeville. Dupuis, now an actor again, appears in Victorien Sardou's Les Premières armes de Figaro alongside the famous actress-director, then in Monsieur Garat from the same author the following year. Through his amusing nature, subtle mimicry, and studied gesture, Dupuis reveals, in his character of Vestris, all the wit of a great actor. This composite role will soon propel his renown. In March 1861, he is sought after by the Théâtre des Variétés to replace the actor Alphonse Lassagne. Dupuis' comedy is certainly different, but the brief appearance he made on that stage in Les Bibelots du diable in August 1858 forebodes the best for him.
─ The Théâtre des Variétés
Thus, on May 18, 1861, Dupuis faces the audience at the Boulevard Montmartre in a revival of Sylphe, a comedy by Rochefort and Desvergers. His new, more refined audience than that of the suburb, is seduced by his acting qualities: "He does not play his character, he is the character he plays...", the critics point out. He is then applauded in Un mari dans du coton and then in Deux chiens de faïence, always with the same enthusiasm: his audience is now won over. Indeed, Dupuis masters theater to the point of "sensing each room" and molding his play according to the audience's sensitivity.
However, the Variétés' too routine programming tires the audience, now eager for the 'musical laughter' provoked at the Bouffes-Parisiens by Jacques Offenbach, who had soloed in the genre and magnified it during Hervé's forced absence. Hervé, making a successful return to Paris after six years, revives his hilarious musical productions. The Cognard brothers, directors of the Variétés, turn to him to reinvigorate their theater by testing operetta. Hervé thus composes Le Joueur de flûte in this spirit, rediscovering his former tenor José Dupuis who embodies the captivating Dyachilum. From the first performance on April 16, 1864, the public rushes in, the takings rise... to the point of soon requesting Hervé for a new opera: La Liberté des Théâtres. In "Le Figaro" of August 14, Dupuis was judged as "very entertaining". The mood is optimistic at the direction of the Variétés. This is not the case at the Bouffes-Parisiens where Offenbach has quarreled with his family. In September, Orphée's father is thus seeking a venue to welcome his new work: La Belle Hélène. Hortense Schneider, picked for the title role, has just left the Théâtre du Palais-Royal... Only the Variétés can offer them a safe haven... The Cognard brothers dare not refuse the enticing financial prospects tied to Offenbach's request. But they cannot forget the service rendered by Hervé... meanwhile tenor, and to whom the roles of Pâris?... or even Menelaus?... were proposed. Preferring to focus on composition, he refuses both offers and the role of the handsome shepherd falls to José Dupuis.
─ Mount Ida and the climb to glory
This casting change does not displease Offenbach, who had sure enough judged Dupuis: his flawless acting talent and now resplendent tenor voice. His thorough knowledge of the stage is deemed so acute that the composer entrusts him with the staging of his Belle Hélène. Meticulous, Dupuis studies his role in detail, but with each rehearsal, he realizes that his entrance aria: "Au mont Ida..." fails to impress. Disappointed, he confides in Offenbach, who invites Pâris to his home on rue Laffite and sketches out three new arias. The tenor retains the first one... And as he returns by train to Nogent-sur-Marne where he resides, it is claimed that Dupuis is already humming these soon-to-be-famous couplets, to bewildered fellow passengers... How true is this anecdote, recounted many times? Is it a stratagem of Offenbach's to 'launch' his aria... and his tenor; or rather a reproach by Dupuis over the first 'Mont Ida...', undoubtedly composed for Hervé's vocal range?
The success of La Belle Hélène would only assert itself about ten days after the premiere, thanks to the spectacular critiques' battles. The real triumph then erupts: Dupuis, alongside Schneider, Grenier, Courder, Silly... elicits nightly thunderous applause until June 11, 1865, when the work leaves the billboards. The evening before, the customary 'benefit night' was precisely dedicated to the tenor.
Dupuis now counts among the Parisian celebrities. Every new creation by Offenbach at the Variétés brings him a fresh success indeed, but simultaneously a new character to mold. The composer, remaining faithful to the pure tradition of operetta, attributes his tenor's light voice to a dominating character, triggering the burlesque contrast that discredits authority... Barbe-Bleue (1866) falls within this vein, which Dupuis also directed, Malatrombra of Pont des Soupirs (1868), or Falsacappa in Brigands (1869). The role of Fritz in La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein (1867) complements a clumsy audacity while that of Piquillo in La Périchole (1868) reveals a poignant sensitivity that pervades the entire work. Dupuis lives only for his roles and delights in lengthening the list... Thus, during a summer tour in London in 1869, he will embody, for just a few evenings, Orphée with Hortense Schneider as Eurydice: a distinguished privilege that Parisians will never experience.
─ The consecration
In 1871, upon the reopening of theaters after the Franco-Prussian conflict, José Dupuis, faithful to the Variétés, reunites with Hervé who proposes Le Trône d'Écosse, then two years later, La Veuve du Malabar, composed for Schneider who shares the marquee with her inseparable partner. Meanwhile, Offenbach, in the same year, offers Dupuis the roles of Marcassou in Braconniers and Gondremarck in the second version of La Vie parisienne. In 1875, he introduces Bernardille in La Boulangère a des écus, then in 1877, Le Docteur Ox, which constitutes his last great Offenbach creation.
Dupuis has then reached the peak of his art: parallel to all his sung roles, he stuns the public with the number of embodied roles in comedies like Les Trente millions de Gladiator by Eugène Labiche, Les Sonnettes, La Petite Marquise or Le Passage de Vénus by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, alternately programmed in opéra bouffe. In 1879, he returns to tenor in Le Grand Casimir by Charles Lecocq, then excels in the new genre of vaudeville-operetta (comedy mixed with couplets) that the Variétés produce for Anna Judic, their new recruit. Hervé immediately composes La Femme à Papa, La Roussotte (1881), Lili (1882), La Cosaque (1884), always bringing Dupuis new roles (sometimes double: father/son) to exploit, which he does with extreme precision, achieving a striking realism.
Despite this glory, José Dupuis' life was by no means tumultuous. He was loyal of spirit: Loyal to his hometown first, going there every year to Liège, serving as a jury member at the Conservatoire's lyrical competition, where his brother Jacques was director... Loyal to Nogent-sur-Marne where his prodigious career enabled him to have a splendid private mansion built in the greenery, where he passed away on May 9, 1900.5. Loyal also to the Théâtre des Variétés where, for over thirty years, creating an immeasurable number of spoken or sung roles alongside the biggest names of the moment, authors as well as actors, he illuminated, moved, or entertained thousands of spectators with his theatrical genius as an actor and tenor. He knew how to articulate perfectly, and his characteristic and extensive vocal timbre allowed Offenbach to utilize syllabic repetitions at a dizzying pace: "Je suis Barbe... Barbe... Barbe Bleue..." or "Quand on est Espagnol gno...gno...gnol..." in La Périchole, bringing forth these vocally buffa effects, echoing the pure Rossinian tradition... While the qualities of this authentic artist were foreseen by Hervé, Dupuis nevertheless remains the one for whom, above all his interpreters, Offenbach composed the most.
EARLY TIMES – BOOKS – 17TH-CENTURY FIREARMS
HUNTING ART – PHALERISTICS
18TH AND 19TH CENTURY ARMS – RUSSIAN ART
Friday, March 7, 2025 - 11am to 12pm
AFRICA AND OCEANIA – FAR EAST
Friday, March 7, 2025 - 2pm
ISLAMIC AND INDIAN ART
Drouot - rooms 5-6
EXHIBITION
Tuesday, March 4 from 11am to 6pm
Wednesday, March 5 from 11am to 6pm
Thursday, March 6 from 11am to 12pm
Phone during the exhibition +33(0)1 48 00 20 05
GIQUELLO
Alexandre Giquello
Violette Stcherbatcheff
5, rue La Boétie - 75008 Paris
+33 (0)1 47 42 78 01 - info@giquello.net
o.v.v. approval
no. 2002 389
CONTACT
Claire Richon
+33(0)1 47 70 48 00
c.richon@giquello.net
EXPERT
Bertrand Malvaux, CNES
Lot n° 249 (for sale)
Pinfire revolver offered in Paris to the operetta singer José Dupuis, signed CH Morisseaux, Liège, Second Empire, circa 1868.
In gilded and blued steel. Round barrel with flat top engraved "LE CHEVREUIL, LA BELLE HELENE, LA GRANDE DUCHESSE, LA PERICHOLE, BERBE BLEUE", 8 mm caliber, barrel length 8.4 cm. 6-shot cylinder engraved "UN MARIDAN DU COTON, TOINETTE ET SON CARABINIER, LE PONT DES SOUPIRS, L’INFORTUNEE CAROLINE",
And stamp "EL68" under a crown. Folding trigger. Grip with carved ivory plates in relief of foliage. Total length of revolver 18 cm.
Presented in its walnut case with royal blue velvet interior. Complete with ivory accessories.
Case: L 23 cm; W 15 cm; H 6 cm.
Belgium.
Second Empire, circa 1868.
Very good condition.
€1,000/€1,500
Biography: Lambert-Joseph-Jacques-Édouard Dupuis, known as José Dupuis, born on March 18, 1833 in Liège and died on May 9, 1900 in Nogent-sur-Marne, was a Belgian actor and singer. He was successively married to two actresses, Miss Dantès from the Cirque-Impérial, and Marie Dubois from the Variétés. He retired in 1894 and was buried in the cemetery of Perreux-sur-Marne.
Dominique Ghesquière wrote a biography summarizing the career of this singer (https://theatremusicaloperette.fr/jose-dupuis-1833-1900)
"Moreso than the highlights of his tumultuous life, the immense talent of Hortense Schneider has transcended time, leaving in many memories to this day, the characteristic echo of Offenbach's music and the Parisian theatrical atmosphere of an entire era. The radiant glory that illuminated this diva on the stage of the Second Empire has overshadowed her faithful and remarkable partner José Dupuis. When, on December 17, 1864, this Pâris first stole, the Belle Hélène Schneider, he truly accessed the prodigious career that 'fate' had in store for this young Belgian tenor, henceforth inseparable from the Théâtre des Variétés.
From the Meuse to the Seine
Lambert, Joseph, Jacques Édouard Dupuis was born in Liège on March 18, 1833. His father, Jacques, a drawing teacher, and his mother Marie-Catherine Berleur, enrolled him in school, with the Ignorantins. His education was supplemented by the study of music and singing, revealing a passion for the 'boards' that already seemed to captivate young Joseph's dreams. His beautiful voice quickly allowed him to interpret various songs at social gatherings. At eighteen, he joined an amateur theater group before performing on the 'real' stage of Liège, where he was noticed and hired by the director. Tours – notably to Lausanne and Fribourg – quickly revealed the vocal talents of the novice actor, in search of a true artistic personality that he believed could only be molded in the Parisian theaters... And the budding actor landed in our capital.
Dupuis obtained a contract at the small Théâtre du Luxembourg (Bobino) where he debuted on April 28, 1854, in l'Apprenti: a play with a very fitting name and no less lucky. The young man was appreciated to the point that he stayed in that theater for months. He then learned role after role for often ephemeral creations... Time has erased their titles except of course La Vie de Bohème by Murger and Barrière where the actor gave Schaunard a particularly unique aspect. After the theater, Dupuis still performed in some Parisian cabarets, interpretating, with spirit, popular refrains of the time, thus supplementing the meager pay at the Théâtre du Luxembourg... where one evening, the composer Hervé discovered him and gave him his chance.
─ The Théâtre des Folies-Nouvelles
Among the approximately one hundred and twenty-four lyrical works of Hervé, Mam'zelle Nitouche, Le Petit Faust, and a few other titles still recall his name. However, his musical personality marked the years 1854-55, thanks to his Théâtre des Folies-Nouvelles, on boulevard du Temple. The multitude of irresistible works he produced there successfully showcased this entirely new lyrical-buffo style that Offenbach would soon cultivate in his Bouffes-Parisiens. But for now, looking for a singer, Hervé, a tenor himself, immediately recognized Dupuis' combined talents as an actor and singer and hired him on the spot. Jean et Jeanne, a 'rustic tableau' by Lafont, music by Ancessy, marked his debut at the Folies-Nouvelles on October 9, 1855: "His play, full of joy and frankness, overshadows some vocal weaknesses and his role as Jean ensures a certain success...". The name, voice, and talent of Dupuis - who had traded Joseph for José - quickly became an integral part of this theater where, between fall 1855 and spring 1859, the tenor would create over forty operettas, mostly composed by Hervé.
But in 1856, he was forced to give up his Folies-Nouvelles and leave Paris.
The management, then handled by Messieurs Huart and Altaroche, maintained the lyrical-buffo genre 'birthed' on this stage, becoming a breeding ground for promising talents. Did we not see Dupuis in Deux sous de charbon, the first work of a novice Léo Delibes... or in Le Page de Madame Malbrough, and disguised as the noble lady...? Frédéric Barbier, the composer, would be more forgotten than his librettist, Vierne, a pseudonym then used by a certain Jules Verne...
Through a succession of burlesque characters, we curiously discover the tenor in a prophetic Jugement de Pâris... But we are only in 1859, the year Dupuis marries the actress Marguerite Abat... and the year the Folies Nouvelles pass to Virginie Déjazet who lends her name to the theater, whose billboards abandon operetta for vaudeville. Dupuis, now an actor again, appears in Victorien Sardou's Les Premières armes de Figaro alongside the famous actress-director, then in Monsieur Garat from the same author the following year. Through his amusing nature, subtle mimicry, and studied gesture, Dupuis reveals, in his character of Vestris, all the wit of a great actor. This composite role will soon propel his renown. In March 1861, he is sought after by the Théâtre des Variétés to replace the actor Alphonse Lassagne. Dupuis' comedy is certainly different, but the brief appearance he made on that stage in Les Bibelots du diable in August 1858 forebodes the best for him.
─ The Théâtre des Variétés
Thus, on May 18, 1861, Dupuis faces the audience at the Boulevard Montmartre in a revival of Sylphe, a comedy by Rochefort and Desvergers. His new, more refined audience than that of the suburb, is seduced by his acting qualities: "He does not play his character, he is the character he plays...", the critics point out. He is then applauded in Un mari dans du coton and then in Deux chiens de faïence, always with the same enthusiasm: his audience is now won over. Indeed, Dupuis masters theater to the point of "sensing each room" and molding his play according to the audience's sensitivity.
However, the Variétés' too routine programming tires the audience, now eager for the 'musical laughter' provoked at the Bouffes-Parisiens by Jacques Offenbach, who had soloed in the genre and magnified it during Hervé's forced absence. Hervé, making a successful return to Paris after six years, revives his hilarious musical productions. The Cognard brothers, directors of the Variétés, turn to him to reinvigorate their theater by testing operetta. Hervé thus composes Le Joueur de flûte in this spirit, rediscovering his former tenor José Dupuis who embodies the captivating Dyachilum. From the first performance on April 16, 1864, the public rushes in, the takings rise... to the point of soon requesting Hervé for a new opera: La Liberté des Théâtres. In "Le Figaro" of August 14, Dupuis was judged as "very entertaining". The mood is optimistic at the direction of the Variétés. This is not the case at the Bouffes-Parisiens where Offenbach has quarreled with his family. In September, Orphée's father is thus seeking a venue to welcome his new work: La Belle Hélène. Hortense Schneider, picked for the title role, has just left the Théâtre du Palais-Royal... Only the Variétés can offer them a safe haven... The Cognard brothers dare not refuse the enticing financial prospects tied to Offenbach's request. But they cannot forget the service rendered by Hervé... meanwhile tenor, and to whom the roles of Pâris?... or even Menelaus?... were proposed. Preferring to focus on composition, he refuses both offers and the role of the handsome shepherd falls to José Dupuis.
─ Mount Ida and the climb to glory
This casting change does not displease Offenbach, who had sure enough judged Dupuis: his flawless acting talent and now resplendent tenor voice. His thorough knowledge of the stage is deemed so acute that the composer entrusts him with the staging of his Belle Hélène. Meticulous, Dupuis studies his role in detail, but with each rehearsal, he realizes that his entrance aria: "Au mont Ida..." fails to impress. Disappointed, he confides in Offenbach, who invites Pâris to his home on rue Laffite and sketches out three new arias. The tenor retains the first one... And as he returns by train to Nogent-sur-Marne where he resides, it is claimed that Dupuis is already humming these soon-to-be-famous couplets, to bewildered fellow passengers... How true is this anecdote, recounted many times? Is it a stratagem of Offenbach's to 'launch' his aria... and his tenor; or rather a reproach by Dupuis over the first 'Mont Ida...', undoubtedly composed for Hervé's vocal range?
The success of La Belle Hélène would only assert itself about ten days after the premiere, thanks to the spectacular critiques' battles. The real triumph then erupts: Dupuis, alongside Schneider, Grenier, Courder, Silly... elicits nightly thunderous applause until June 11, 1865, when the work leaves the billboards. The evening before, the customary 'benefit night' was precisely dedicated to the tenor.
Dupuis now counts among the Parisian celebrities. Every new creation by Offenbach at the Variétés brings him a fresh success indeed, but simultaneously a new character to mold. The composer, remaining faithful to the pure tradition of operetta, attributes his tenor's light voice to a dominating character, triggering the burlesque contrast that discredits authority... Barbe-Bleue (1866) falls within this vein, which Dupuis also directed, Malatrombra of Pont des Soupirs (1868), or Falsacappa in Brigands (1869). The role of Fritz in La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein (1867) complements a clumsy audacity while that of Piquillo in La Périchole (1868) reveals a poignant sensitivity that pervades the entire work. Dupuis lives only for his roles and delights in lengthening the list... Thus, during a summer tour in London in 1869, he will embody, for just a few evenings, Orphée with Hortense Schneider as Eurydice: a distinguished privilege that Parisians will never experience.
─ The consecration
In 1871, upon the reopening of theaters after the Franco-Prussian conflict, José Dupuis, faithful to the Variétés, reunites with Hervé who proposes Le Trône d'Écosse, then two years later, La Veuve du Malabar, composed for Schneider who shares the marquee with her inseparable partner. Meanwhile, Offenbach, in the same year, offers Dupuis the roles of Marcassou in Braconniers and Gondremarck in the second version of La Vie parisienne. In 1875, he introduces Bernardille in La Boulangère a des écus, then in 1877, Le Docteur Ox, which constitutes his last great Offenbach creation.
Dupuis has then reached the peak of his art: parallel to all his sung roles, he stuns the public with the number of embodied roles in comedies like Les Trente millions de Gladiator by Eugène Labiche, Les Sonnettes, La Petite Marquise or Le Passage de Vénus by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, alternately programmed in opéra bouffe. In 1879, he returns to tenor in Le Grand Casimir by Charles Lecocq, then excels in the new genre of vaudeville-operetta (comedy mixed with couplets) that the Variétés produce for Anna Judic, their new recruit. Hervé immediately composes La Femme à Papa, La Roussotte (1881), Lili (1882), La Cosaque (1884), always bringing Dupuis new roles (sometimes double: father/son) to exploit, which he does with extreme precision, achieving a striking realism.
Despite this glory, José Dupuis' life was by no means tumultuous. He was loyal of spirit: Loyal to his hometown first, going there every year to Liège, serving as a jury member at the Conservatoire's lyrical competition, where his brother Jacques was director... Loyal to Nogent-sur-Marne where his prodigious career enabled him to have a splendid private mansion built in the greenery, where he passed away on May 9, 1900.5. Loyal also to the Théâtre des Variétés where, for over thirty years, creating an immeasurable number of spoken or sung roles alongside the biggest names of the moment, authors as well as actors, he illuminated, moved, or entertained thousands of spectators with his theatrical genius as an actor and tenor. He knew how to articulate perfectly, and his characteristic and extensive vocal timbre allowed Offenbach to utilize syllabic repetitions at a dizzying pace: "Je suis Barbe... Barbe... Barbe Bleue..." or "Quand on est Espagnol gno...gno...gnol..." in La Périchole, bringing forth these vocally buffa effects, echoing the pure Rossinian tradition... While the qualities of this authentic artist were foreseen by Hervé, Dupuis nevertheless remains the one for whom, above all his interpreters, Offenbach composed the most.
Reference :
Étude Giquello, Drouot - salles 5-6, les 6 & 7 mars 2025
Next update Friday, april 4th at 1:30 PM
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