Fernand Francell

Fernand Francell (9 November 1879 – 18 February 1966, in Paris) was a French tenor and later actor and vocal teacher who was particularly associated with the Opéra-Comique.
Career.
Born Fernand Claude Eugène François in Gevrey-Chambertin, he studied singing at the Paris Conservatoire as a pupil of Isnardon in the opéra comique class and with Rose Caron in vocal studies.
He made his debut at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in September 1906 as Vincent in "Mireille" by Gounod, going on later that year to sing in the premiere of the one-act "Le Bonhomme Jadis" by Dalcroze (Octave) and the role of Prince Yamadori in the French premiere of "Madama Butterfly" by Puccini.
His other creations at the Opéra-Comique included "Chiquito" (the title role), "La Danseuse de Pompéi" (as Hyacinthe), "Fortunio" (title role), "La Marchande d'allumettes" (Gréham) "Le Mariage de Télémaque" (Télémaque), "Solange" (Frédéric), and in a double bill of the Paris premiere of "La vida breve" (singing Paco), coupled with "Francesca da Rimini" by Leoni (Paolo).
In 1908 Francell appeared at the Théâtre de la Gaîté in Paris, in a new production of "La Basoche" alongside André Baugé, Edmée Favart and Lucien Fugère, also singing Wilhelm Meister in "Mignon".
He had a great success as Mârouf in Nice in 1921, and in 1922 he made a foray into comédie musicale with "Monsieur l'Amour" and "Le Secret de Polichinelle".
Other roles at the Salle Favart included Ange Pitou in "La Fille de Madame Angot", Almaviva in "Le Barbier de Séville", Clément Marot in "La Basoche", Rodolphe in "La Bohème", Don José in "Carmen", the title role in "Les Contes d’Hoffmann", Georges in "La Dame blanche", Alexis in "Le Déserteur", Ottavio in "Don Giovanni", Tamino in "The Magic Flute", the title role in "Fra Diavolo", Pedro in "La Habanera", Jean in "Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame", the title role in "Joseph", Gérald in "Lakmé", Des Grieux in "Manon", Pelléas in "Pelléas et Mélisande", Nicias in "Phryné", and Jean in "Sapho".
He left only a few recordings; for Odeon "La Traviata" 'De ma folle jeunesse' and "Fortunio" 'Si vous croyez que je vais dire', for Eden Disques "Mignon" 'Adieu, Mignon, courage' and, for Lyraphon, "Fortunio" 'J'aimais la vieille maison grise'. He was the dedicatee of “Parfois, je suis triste”, the third song in Lili Boulanger’s cycle ‘Clairières dans le Ciel’.
In the 1930s Francell appeared in the films "Les Trois Mousquetaires" (as Louis XIII) in 1932 and "L'Appel du silence" in 1936.
His daughter was the singer and well-known stage and film actress Jacqueline Francell (1908-1962). They both appeared in "L'Appel du silence".