Paul Trépanier

Trépanier, Paul

(Joseph Horace) Paul Trépanier. Tenor, b Noranda, Que, 6 Aug 1939. After studying privately 1961-4 with Albert Cornellier and taking courses at the École Vincent-d'Indy, he attended the CMM 1964-7. There he studied voice with Léopold Simoneau and repertoire with Janine Lachance. He attended the Royal Cons Opera School (University of Toronto Opera Division) on scholarship in 1967 and achieved notable successes in the school's productions of The Magic Flute (singing Tamino) and Pelléas et Mélisande (singing Pelléas). At the school Trépanier studied operatic acting and stage techniques with Ebert. After participating in the 1968 Glyndebourne Festival, he sang the role of Sir George-Étienne Cartier that fall in the COC production of Somers'Louis Riel and the following year in the CBC TV production of that work. In 1969 he appeared in COC productions of Rigoletto and Elektra in Toronto before resuming his studies with Simoneau and Lachance.

In 1970 Trépanier sang Ferrando in Così fan tutte with the Théâtre lyrique du Québec and Wilhelm in Mignon with the CBC and was a soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. On a Canada Council grant he went to Munich in 1970-1 and London in 1971-2 to improve his knowledge of the German and English languages and repertoire. In 1973 he sang Tamino at the Banff SFA (Banff CA), in 1974, Hubert in Chanson gitane at the PDA and Gonzalve (L'Heure espagnole) on CBC TV. Also in 1974 he sang with the NACO in the Canadian premiere of Rossini's Le Comte Ory and was the Narrator in that orchestra's presentation of Berlioz' L'Enfance du Christ, first in Ottawa then at Carnegie Hall. He was a founding member in 1974 of the Ensemble cantabile de Montréal.

Trépanier sang the title role in Bizet's Docteur Miracle at the Théâtre de la Poudrière de Montréal (summer 1975), and repeated the role of Cartier with the COC in Toronto, Ottawa, and at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington that year. Shortly afterwards he toured Canada in JMC (YMC) productions of The Magic Flute and The Barber of Seville (Count Almaviva; French-language version 1975-6, English-language version 1976-7). As a concert and oratorio soloist he sang in 1976 with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in The Creation and in 1978 with the MSO in its summer concert series and in Messiah. Also that year he performed at the Festival de Namur, Belgium. In 1980 he repeated his interpretation of the Narrator in the Guelph Spring Festival production of L'Enfance du Christ. At the Opéra de Montréal he has sung Ferrando (Così fan tutte, 1981), Arturo (Lucia di Lammermoor, 1982), Guillot de Morfontaine (Manon, 1983), Jaquino (Fidelio, 1983), Pong (Turandot, 12984), the first Jew (Salomé, 1984), and Melot (Tristan und Isolde, 1986). In 1988, he appeared as Innocent in the concert version of Boris Godounov performed at the St-Jean-Baptiste Church in Montreal and at the Festival international de Lanaudière. The following year, he took part in the premiere of Gilbert Patenaude's opera Pour ces quelques arpents de neige with the Théâtre d'art lyrique de Laval; this production was also presented that year in France and in Belgium. In 1990, he sang Abdallo in the concert version of Nabucco presented at the PDA.