Martial Singher

Who was Martial Singher?

Martial Singher was a French baritone opera singer born in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

Initially singing only as a hobby, he was encouraged by then French education minister Édouard Herriot to pursue singing professionally. He would go on to perform in the Opéra National de Paris, New York City Opera and Metropolitan Opera.

He recorded an acclaimed Méphistophelès under Charles Munch in the 3-LP RCA recording of Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust c. 1954 with the Boston Symphony and celebrated lyric soprano Suzanne Danco as Marguérite.

Later in his life, he became an accomplished music teacher at Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, influencing the careers of such artists as James King, Donald Gramm, Jeannine Altmeyer, Benita Valente, John Reardon, Louis Quilico, Jean-François Lapointe and Judith Blegen. Martial Singher has also been the teacher of world-famous baritones such as Thomas Hampson and Rodney Gilfry.

His son, Michel Singher, is an accomplished conductor.