Husband Alfred Augustin
Queer Places:
Château de Lully, 1132 Lully, Svizzera
Hugues-Adhémar
Cuénod (26 June 1902 – 6 December 2010)[1][2][3][4]
was a Swiss classical tenor and music educator known for his performances in
international
opera,
operetta, both traditional and
musical theatre, and on the concert stage, where he was particularly known
for his clear, light, romantic and expressive poised interpretation of
mélodie
(French art
song).[5]
A master of diction and technique, his repertoire encompassed everything from
the medieval chansons of
Guillaume de Machaut,
Elizabethan Love Songs, the sacred
renaissance compositions of
Claudio Monteverdi to the operas of
Jacques Offenbach and the
avant garde works of
Igor Stravinsky, as well as recordings of lute songs. Cuénod contributed
to the revival of
baroque music, performing compositions by
Francesco Cavalli and others. A distinguished singer of
Johann Sebastian Bach's music, he was particularly praised for his
interpretation of the
Evangelist in Bach's
St Matthew Passion.[5]
He had the longest career of any recorded vocalist or performer in history: he
gave his first performance in Paris in 1928, appearing in musical comedies,
later in his career gravitating more towards concert and opera, he gave his
last concert in 1992; of the latter performances he became best known in the
role as Emperor Altoum, appearing opposite
Plácido Domingo in
Puccini's
Turandot.
Cuénod's native language was French, but he was fluent in English, German
and Italian. He resided with his life partner,
Alfred Augustin (41 years his
junior), in the
Vaud region of Switzerland. They lived in the Château de Lully, an
18th-century castle that belonged to his grandfather, who purchased the
property in 1899. In June 2007, when Cuénod was 105, he and Augustin entered
into a
civil union after changes in Swiss law gave same-sex couples many of the
legal benefits of marriage.[11]
Cuenod became a
centenarian in 2002, and died aged 108, on 6 December 2010 at his home in
Vevey,
Switzerland[2][3][4]
My published books:
BACK TO HOME PAGE
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugues_Cu%C3%A9nod