The Paris Opera has learned with great sadness of the passing of the French bass Jean-Philippe Courtis on the eve of his 75th birthday.

After winning a First Prize at the Paris Conservatoire in 1978, he joined the Paris Opera’s Singing School. He was soon invited to perform on the stages of the Palais Garnier and the Opéra Bastille, where the quality of his singing led him to appear in numerous supporting roles almost every season from 1981 to 1993. Particularly at ease in French operas such as Dardanus by Jean-Philippe Rameau, Carmen, Roméo et Juliette, Werther, and Les Troyens, he also excelled in the operas of Richard Strauss (Arabella, Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne auf Naxos) and in the Italian repertoire (La Traviata, Gianni Schicchi, Rigoletto, among others). Among his most memorable roles were Méphistophélès in Faust by Charles Gounod, Narbal in Les Troyens, and Arkel in Pelléas et Mélisande. An outstanding musician, he took part in the premieres of several operas, including Saint François d’Assise by Olivier Messiaen in 1983, in which he sang the role of Brother Bernard under the baton of Seiji Ozawa. His final appearance on the stage of the Palais Garnier came in 1999, when he performed the role of Monsieur Javelinot in Dialogues des Carmélites.

He also taught voice at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional d’Amiens, and recorded an extensive discography of around forty titles. He will be remembered as a warm and generous man, endowed with a noble bass voice, a rich and velvety timbre, and a vocal style that was quintessentially French.

The Paris Opera extends its deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.