Edmond Clément

A French tenor admired for the polish of his singing rather than its weight. He trained at the Paris Conservatoire and made his debut at the Opéra-Comique in 1889, remaining long enough to sing Don José in its thousandth Carmen. He created roles for Saint-Saëns and Bruneau, sang in the first Paris Falstaff, and created Pinkerton in the first Paris Madama Butterfly. He went to the Metropolitan Opera in 1909 and the Boston Opera Company for the 1911–12 and 1912–13 seasons. He returned to fight in the war, was wounded, and gave a last recital in Paris at sixty.