Émile-Alexandre Taskin
Émile-Alexandre Taskin (1853–1897) was a French operatic baritone best known for his work at the Paris Opéra-Comique. He came from a family connected to music, being a descendant of the harpsichord maker Pascal Taskin. As a child he sang in church choirs and later studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Bussine and Ponchard.
Taskin’s first breakthrough was as a concert singer in 1875 in Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ. His stage debut followed in September 1875 in Amiens, where he sang the role of Roland in Halévy’s Les mousquetaires de la reine. After performing in the provinces, he joined the Théâtre Lyrique (Salle Ventadour) in 1878 and created Lampourde in Le Capitaine Fracasse on 2 July 1878.
His Opéra-Comique debut came on 9 February 1878 as Malipieri in Haydée, and he soon joined the company there. He was on stage on the night of the deadly fire at Salle Favart on 25 May 1887, singing Lothario in Thomas’s Mignon; he later received a rescue medal and performed in the opera’s 1,000th showing at the house.
Taskin’s repertoire included many famous parts: Count Almaviva (The Marriage of Figaro), Escamillo (Carmen), Ourrias (Mireille), Sulpice (La fille du régiment), Jupiter (Philémon et Baucis), the Tambour-Major (Le Caid by Thomas), and Père Lorenzo (Amants de Vérone by d’Ivry). He also created several new roles: in Le Capitaine Fracasse by Pessard (1880), Jean de Nivelle (le Charolais) by Delibes (8 March 1880), Hoffmann’s Les contes d’Hoffmann (Lindorf, Coppelius and Docteur Miracle) by Offenbach (18 February 1881), Les Manon (Lescaut) by Massenet (19 January 1884), Proserpine (Squarocca) by Saint-Saëns (14 March 1887), and Esclarmonde (Phorcas) by Massenet (14 May 1889).
He also sang in the Paris premiere of Debussy’s L’enfant prodigue on 27 July 1884. As his health declined, he retired from the stage and became a professor at the Conservatoire (opéra comique) on 1 May 1891.
Taskin died at his home on rue de Rome at the age of 44 and was buried in Cimetière de Saint-Ouen.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:01 (CET).