Charles Hardouin Explained

Charles Hardouin (1694 in Brittany, fl. Paris – 1718) was a French operatic baritone (basse taille).

Beginning his career as a cathedral singer, Hardouin was engaged by the Paris Opéra as a principal singer around 1693–1694, though from 1697 onwards he was eclipsed by the more powerful Gabriel-Vincent Thévenard. He was still singing in 1718 when he was acclaimed as Poliphème in Lully's Acis et Galatée.

Roles created

• The grand priest in Destouches's Issé (Paris, 1697)
• Mars in Desmarets' Vénus et Adonis (Paris, 1697)
• Argante in André Campra's Tancrède (Paris, 1702)
• Cadmus in Marin Marais's Sémélé (Paris, 1709)
• Filindo/Héraclite in Campra's Les fêtes vénitiennes (Paris, 1710)
• Eole/Arbas in Campra's Idoménée (Paris, 1712)

Sources

• Weller, Philip (1992), 'Hardouin' in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London)