Hugues Cuénod

Life

Cuénod received his education at the Institut de Ribaupierre in Lausanne and at the conservatories in Geneva, Basel and Vienna. He began his career in Paris in 1928 in Krenek's Jonny spielt auf. The following year, he first appeared in the United States, in Bitter Sweet by Noël Coward on. From 1930 to 1933 he was in Geneva, then worked until 1937 in Paris. An extensive tour took him from 1937 to 1939 again to North America. In 1943 he ended his active career in opera with Die Fledermaus in Geneva. He then had individual performances at La Scala (1951 ), at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1954 and at London's Royal Opera House Covent Garden (1954, 1956 and 1958). In 1987, he had a nearly 85 -year-old in the role of the Emperor in Puccini's Turandot his debut at the New York Metropolitan Opera.

From 1940 to 1946 Cuénod had a teaching position at the Geneva Conservatory. He leaves behind extensive commercial recordings, including some premiere recordings as Couperin Lamentations. His repertoire included nearly all of Guillaume de Machaut to Stravinsky. He joined, among others, as Mozart Basilio and as Sellem on in the premiere of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress ( 1951). His particular interest was the French song, he worked here together with the composer Arthur Honegger, George Auric, Albert Roussel and Francis Poulenc.

After being together for over 20 years with the former federal officials Alfred Augustin ( b. 1943 ), they let in early 2007 their partnership under the new Civil Partnership Act enter.