Nourrit, Adolphe (EN)

Nourrit Adolphe, *3 March 1802 Montpellier, †8 March 1839 Naples, French singer, son of Louis. He received a solid general education; he studied singing under M. García (his father). In 1821 he made his debut at the Opéra de Paris as Pylades in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, and in 1826, he became the first tenor there, taking his father’s position as first tenor. He appeared in leading roles at the world premiere performances of F. Auber’s La muette de Portici (1828), Rossini’s Le comte Ory (1828) and William Tell (1829), G. Meyerbeer’s Robert the Devil (1831) and Les Huguenots (1836), and F. Halévy’s La juive (1835). At this time, he also wrote ballet scripts for the famous dancers M. Taglioni and F. Elssler and contributed to the popularisation of songs by Schubert in France. He was a true idol of the Opéra de Paris visitors, so when in 1836 the management of this stage engaged his rival G.-L. Duprez. Adolphe Nourrit left the opera the following year. He also resigned from the conservatory, where he taught declamation from 1828. This position was later taken by Adolphe’s brother, Auguste Nourrit (1805–1853), tenor, director of the opera houses in The Hague, Amsterdam, and Brussels. Adolphe Nourrit then sang in Brussels, Marseille, Lyon, and Toulouse, finally settling in Naples. There, his performances of S. Mercadante’s Il Giuramento (1838) and Bellini’s Norma (1839) were very well received. However, Adolphe Nourrit, despondent by the news of Duprez’s successes, fell into melancholy and, during a bout of illness (immediately after a successful concert to celebrate his work), he committed suicide by jumping out of a hotel room window. His body was transported to Paris and the solemn funeral became almost a national demonstration. In Marseille, F. Chopin played the organ during the funeral mass for Nourrit. Adolphe Nourrit made history as one of the greatest opera singers of the Romantic era.

Literature: M.L. Quicherat Adolphe Nourrit Sa vie, son talent, son caractère, sa correspondance, 3 Volumes, Paris 1867; E. Boutet de Monvel Adolphe Nourrit, Paris 1903.