French tenor Charles Burles has passed away, at the age of 85. Born in 1936 in Marseille, he had a very good lyric tenor voice, primarily associated with the French repertory, both opera and operetta.
He started his career in Marseille expanding his repertory, with a few guest appearances in Lyon, Turin, and Venice. He made his debut at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1970, and at the Paris Opéra in 1971. His roles at these two houses included: Lindoro, Nemorino, Ernesto, George Brown, Chapelou, Vincent, Nadir, Gérard, Tonio, Arturo, etc. He also sang in several Jacques Offenbach operettas, and appeared in Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, and Israel.
Wikipedia says: « A stylish singer, with a light and attractive voice, he can be heard on several recordings of French opera and operetta released by EMI France, often partnering Mady Mesplé, the most famous being Lakmé, under Alain Lombard, in 1970, in which he sings the role of Gérald. He also recorded the small role of Hadji in the same opera, opposite Natalie Dessay in 1998. »
