Born in Béziers, Joseph Valentin Duc was a French singer, operatic forte ténor. He is known for his repertoire at the Opéra de Paris, the in Béziers and world tours that took him from Monte Carlo to St. Petersburg, from Baltimore to Seville... Son of Valentin Duc and Marie Fabre, originating from Tignes, he was the third in a line of eight children. These parents moved to Béziers in 1850, joining a previously established Duc branch. In the Census Table of Class 1878, he is noted as postilion of occupation on that date. He left Béziers in 1879 for his military service at Rochefort. His fencing practice must have encouraged his stage fluency in performances of historical opera. He was spotted by Cazeaux. He was in Paris in 1883, staying at 56 bd Richard Lenoir and received at the Conservatoire de Paris. On leaving the conservatory on 3 June 1885, he resided at 16 bd Montmartre. On April 30, 1891, he married Marie Catherine Plomteux, annuitant. They resided at 29. He then legitimized Robert, born 29 November 1890, by this act. Leaving the Opera in 1893, he then resided in Béziers "villa Frescaty" at 29 rue des Saint-Simoniens. He remained there until his death on 23 February 1915. Although he resided in town, he only sang at the Grand-Théâtre during exceptional events. He never belonged to the permanent troupe.
Career
Training
Before his Conseil de révision in 1878, his musical studies probably took place at Béziers in the and possibly in the choirs or small roles of the Grand Théâtre de Béziers. In 1882, he was admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris, in Bussine's singing class and Obin's opera class.. He was a resident of the town of Béziers as soon as 1882. After leaving the Paris Conservatoire on 25 July 1885, Valentin Duc obtained the first prize for singing in front of a jury presided by Ambroise Thomas and including Massenet, Delibes, Guiraud, etc. generally acclaimed by the press. In the same promotion, he obtained first prize for opera in front of the same jury, supplemented by a few performers.
Repertoire
Repertoire at the Paris Opera.
Valentin Duc made his debut as Arnold in Guillaume Tell. He sang Eleazar in La Juive, Raoul of Les Huguenots, Rodrigue of Le Cid, Robert in Robert le diable, Jean in Le Prophète, Vasco in L'Africaine, a role in Sigurd, and finally Zarastra in Le Mage. After the fire of the Opera's sets in 1893, he left the troupe to begin his world tours.
Tours in province and abroad
According to the records of the management of the Grand Théâtre de Béziers, the articles of L'Hérault and his important family correspondence by postcard it is possible to establish this list:
5 September 1884: benefit for the poor concert in Béziers.
30 April 1886: passage in Les Huguenots, concert-recital in Béziers, he sings in church and for the benefit of the poor.
18 March 1887: passage in Guillaume Tell, concert-récital in Béziers.
1 June 1888: concert-récital in Béziers.
April 1890: passage in La Juive in Béziers.
April 1891: performance in Béziers with the troupe of Montpellier, he sings Le Cid by Massenet.
1895: Uruguay and Argentina Tour : He sings in Italian: Aida, Les Huguenots; Otello, Guillaume Tell, La Juive and L'Africaine
1896: concert of the Lyre Biterroise in Béziers.
April 1897 : Moscow.
28-29 August 1898: he sings Hercules during the premiere of Déjanire.
1899:
*1899: in residence at Cairo.
*27-29 August 1899: he sings again the soli of Hercules during the revival of Déjanire.
*1 April 1901: "I went to Baku to give a concert where I had a great success." He plans to leave for Karkov for about ten days and 2 performances before the return to Paris.
*April 1901: on his way back from Russia he stopped in Warsaw, Cologne, Hanover.
*22 September 1901: he sings Les Huguenots in Tiflis before leaving for Baku.
*31 December 1901: New-York – Departure for New Orleans.
1902:
*5 January 1902: He sings La Juive in New Orleans.
*19 February 1902: départure for Galvaston, Texas.
*19 April 1902: he sings the Ave verum by Pessard at the inauguration of Agde's grand organ.
*28 June 1902: Vichy. He sings in Guillaume Tell.
*30 August 1902: Seville – Cadix. He plans to be in 10 days in New York, then Havana and Mexico City.
28 August 1904: he sings Renaud during the first performance of Armide at the Théâtre des Arènes, in front of more than 12,000 spectators. On August 30, the second performance of "Armide" is interrupted by rain from the first act, so he sang again the next day.
1906:
*26 March 1906: he sings a tune of Sigurd at the Théâtre des Célestins at a Lyonnaise Harmony gala evening.
