Jules Jacob

Jacob, Jules

Jules Jacob. Tenor, record dealer, b St-Prosper-de-Champlain, near Trois-Rivières, Que, 1906, d Town of Mount Royal, Montreal, 16 Jan 1969. In 1930, while studying voice in Montreal with Salvator Issaurel, he became a member of the Alouette Vocal Quartet. He sang with the group until 1956 and also, in the late 1930s, succeeded Ludovic Huot as tenor with the Trio lyrique. He made recordings with both these ensembles.

Jacob made his stage debut as a soloist in 1938 at a concert performance of Xavier Leroux's opera Évangéline. Writing in La Presse, Marcel Valois described the performance: 'Jules Jacob's debut delighted everyone. He has a fine voice, particularly in the upper register, intelligent delivery and precise diction' (15 Sep 1938).

Jacob's theatre debut was made the following year with the Variétés lyriques in The Student Prince. He was a soloist in 1941, 1944, and 1947 in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the CSM Orchestra. At the Montreal Festivals he was a soloist in 1943 and 1944 in the St Matthew Passion and sang the role of the Helmsman in 1944 in Tristan und Isolde. At the Opera Guild he was given supporting roles in several of their productions. In the mid-1950s Jacob retired from performing to manage a record store. With Albert Viau, he recorded two items for the series La Bonne Chanson (Bluebird 55-5218).