Orphée Langevin, baritone (circa 1880-?)
Orphée Langevin was born in Québec around 1880. At the beginning of the century he studied music in Paris with Emmanuel Lafarge, Léon Melchisédec and Dubulle. Beginning in 1916, he recorded opera arias (Tannhäuser, La Traviata, Benvenutto Cellini, L'Africaine, Hamlet), several of which were duets with Alice Verlet and Odette Le Fontenay, on both cylinder and lateral-cut Edison Diamond records for the American Edison company in New York. Langevin also recorded some Canadian works, including "Le Saint-Laurent" by François-Xavier Mercier and "Ô Canada, mon pays, mes amours" by Georges-Étienne Cartier and Jean-Baptiste Labelle. His recording career lasted until at least 1924, but there is no mention of his performances in Canadian musical periodicals, which suggests that his career took place primarily in the United States. For more information on Orphée Langevin's recordings, please consult the Virtual Gramophone database. Robert Thérien, music researcher, Montréal |