# François-Louis Henry

François-Louis(-Ferdinand) Henry (12 May 1786 – 22 February 1855) was a French baritone, who sang for about 35 years with the Opéra-Comique in Paris, where he created numerous leading roles. His stage name was Henri (or Henry). He has also been referred to as François-Louis Deshayes.

## Birth and identity

He was born in Versailles with the family name of Deshayes. Relatively little is known about his life, and during his career at the Opéra-Comique he was only identified as Henry or Henri. However, it is as good as certain that he is identical with François-Louis Henry, who attended, and later taught at, the Conservatoire de Paris.

## Paris Conservatory

Henry first attended the conservatory as a supernumerary, beginning on 13 May 1803. He became a coach (répétiteur) without pay on 23 May 1808 and professor of singing preparation (préparation au chant) on 1 July, again without pay. He was a student of Charles Simon Catel, a professor of harmony, and won a second prize in harmony in 1810.
On 1 April 1816 Henry was appointed to a paid position as professor of vocalization (vocalisation). Among his students were Julie Dorus (c. 1821) and Cornélie Falcon (c. 1827–1828), who both later became leading sopranos at the Paris Opera. He became a professor of singing (chant) for a two-year trial (prior to 9 June 1835) and received his permanent position as professor of singing on 1 January 1837. He retired on 15 November 1842.

## Opéra-Comique

The first record of Henry having sung at the Opéra-Comique is on 29 June 1813 in the premiere of Boieldieu's opera Le nouveau seigneur de village. The singer's most noteworthy creations there included Gaveston in Boieldieu's La dame blanche (1825) and Sergeant Sulpice in Donizetti's La fille du régiment (1840). He also sang at the premiere of George Onslow's opera Le duc de Guise. He continued to appear regularly with the company until 1849.
On 6 December 1846 Henry sang Brander in the premiere of Berlioz's La damnation de Faust, a concert performance at the Opéra-Comique conducted by the composer. He also sang the role under Berlioz on 15 March 1847 at the Mikhaylovsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, 18 April 1847 at the Maly Theatre in Moscow, and 10 June 1847 at the Neues Königliches Schauspielhaus in Berlin.
After about 1845 Henry was also active as a stage director at the Opéra-Comique. His stagings included the premieres of Halévy's 3-act Les mosquetaires de la reine on 3 February 1846, Xavier Boisselot's 3-act Ne touchez pas à la reine! on 16 January 1847, Halévy's 3-act Le val d'Andorre on 11 November 1848, and Armand Limnander's 3-act Les Monténégrins on 31 March 1849.
Henry's farewell performance was in 1850 (after his official retirement), when he performed Fortunatus in Auber's L'ambassadrice.
He died in Paris.

## Roles created

| Date | Role | Opera | Composer |
| 29 June 1813 | | Le nouveau seigneur de village | François-Adrien Boieldieu |
| 5 March 1816 | | La fête du village voisin | François-Adrien Boieldieu |
| 18 October 1817 | | La clochette | Ferdinand Hérold |
| 25 January 1823 | Lord Hudson | Leicester | Daniel Auber |
| 3 May 1825 | Rica | Le maçon | Daniel Auber |
| 10 December 1825 | Gaveston | La dame blanche | François-Adrien Boieldieu |
| 12 August 1826 | | Marie | Ferdinand Hérold |
| 28 January 1830 | Mathéo | Fra Diavolo | Daniel Auber |
| 14 February 1831 | corsaire | La veillée | Alexandre Paris |
| 24 May 1834 | Golofkin | Lestocq ou L'intrigue et l'amour | Daniel Auber |
| 13 October 1835 | Faribolini | Cosimo ou le peintre badigeonneur | Eugène Prévost [fr] |
| 9 April 1836 | Gilbert | Les chaperons blanc | Daniel Auber |
| 13 October 1836 | Biju | Le postillon de Lonjumeau | Adolphe Adam |
| 8 September 1837 | Larchant | Guise ou les états de Blois | George Onslow |
| 21 March 1838 | négociant | Lequel? ou Le fils et orphelin | Aimé Leborne |
| 30 March 1838 | Pierre-le-Grand | Le perruquier de la Régence | Ambroise Thomas |
| 18 June 1838 | Maître Birminstel | Marguerite | Adrien-Louis Boieldieu |
| 31 October 1838 | Sergeant Toby | Le brasseur de Preston | Adolphe Adam |
| 15 November 1838 | John Porter | Lady Melvil, ou Le joaillier de Saint-James | Albert Grisar |
| 15 April 1839 | 3rd Neapolitan | Les treize | Fromental Halévy |
| 14 June 1839 | Bambolino Bambolini | Polichinelle | Alexandre Montfort |
| 2 September 1839 | Sheriff Turner | Le shérif | Fromental Halévy |
| 11 February 1840 | Sergeant Sulpice | La fille du régiment | Gaetano Donizetti |
| 6 March 1841 | Rebolledo | Les diamants de la couronne | Daniel Auber |
| 8 August 1841 | Marcelin | Camille ou le souterrain (revival) | Nicolas Dalayrac |
| 17 August 1841 | | L'aïeule | Adrien-Louis Boieldieu |
| 1 December 1841 | Doctor Magnus | La jeunesse de Charles-Quint | Alexandre Montfort |
| 17 January 1842 | Babylas | Le diable à l'école | Ernest Boulanger |
| 4 February 1842 | Mugnoz | Le duc d'Olonne | Daniel Auber |
| 20 April 1843 | Sheriff Bolbury | Le puits d'amour | Michael William Balfe |
| 14 September 1843 | John-Bred | Lambert Simnel | Hippolyte Monpou |
| 10 February 1844 | Tomassi | Cagliostro | Adolphe Adam |
| 26 March 1844 | Bolbaya | La sirène | Daniel Auber |
| 10 February 1845 | Shepherd | Les bergers trumeaux | Louis Clapisson |
| 9 August 1845 | Major Krifkraffen | Le ménétrier ou Les deux duchesses | Théodore Labarre |
| 15 May 1846 | Goulard | Le trompette de Monsieur le Prince | François Bazin |
| 19 November 1846 | Lord Catesby | Gibby la cornemuse | Louis Clapisson |
| 11 November 1848 | Grand Syndic | Le val d'Andorre | Fromental Halévy |
| 3 January 1849 | Aboul-y-far | Le caïd | Ambroise Thomas |