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Valentin Jaume (1877-1930) was a greatly underrated French tenor whose 20 year career was primarily relegated to provincial theaters. The son of a painter, he was born in Arles and received his vocal training at the Conservatory of Marseilles. Not much is known of his early years on the opera stage and even the circumstances of his debut are a bit hazy. Although most references state that Jaume made his debut as Eléazar in La Juive at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse in 1905, it would seem that he had been singing various roles with small, local companies for a few years prior to this. In 1906, the brilliant voiced tenor was engaged as Arnold in Guillaume Tell at the Opéra de Paris. Despite his success of his Paris debut, this engagement did not turn out to be the important step that he had hoped for. Fierce competition from the likes of Affre, Escalaïs, Alvarez and Laffite pretty much guaranteed that Jaume would never gain a foothold at the Opéra. Although Valentin Jaume’s career was not destined to be a full scale international affair, the tenor concentrated his energies on the first-rate provincial theaters. From 1907 to 1910, Jaume was a regular member of the Marseilles Opera and paid regular visits to La Monnaie in Brussels until 1911. Jaume also appeared on the stages of Nice, Toulouse, Lyon, Bordeaux, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Toulon, Montpellier, Bayonne, Béziers, Rouen, Antwerp, and Algiers. His repertoire consisted primarily of high lying heroic roles from the French repertoire… Vasco da Gama in L’Africaine, Jean de Leyde in Le Prophète, and Raoul in Les Huguenots…as well as Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera, Manrico in Il Trovatore, Don José in Carmen, des Grieux in Manon, Jean in Hérodiade, and the title roles in Reyer’s Sigurd, Massenet’s Werther and Berlioz’s Le Damnation de Faust. Jaume’s career continued well into the 1920s, including appearances in what had become his signature role, Arnold in Guillaume Tell, at the Theatre de Aix-en-Provence in 1923. After retiring from the stage, Valentin Jaume returned to his hometown of Arles, where he died in the spring of 1930 at the sadly young age of 53. Valentin Jaume was one of those exciting early 20th century French tenors who is all but forgotten today. Although one can think of numerous reasons for his obscurity…a sparse recorded legacy, a career that relegated him to provincial theaters in the French speaking world, competition from other leading tenors…Jaume probably deserves to be better remembered. His less than 50 recordings, all made in Paris between 1903 and 1914, were recorded for Pathé, Odeon, Lyrophon and Edison. These cylinders and discs showcase a clarion voice, detailed musicianship and a sensitive artistry which are a marvel to listen to today.
