André Dran

André Dran (Metz, 15 June 1924 –) was a French tenor, whose career was mainly restricted to France and who left several complete opera recordings.

Dran appeared at the Paris Opéra-Comique from 1953 to 1970, undertaking roles such as Pomponnet in la Fille de Madame Angot, Antonin in Ciboulette, Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de perles, Beppe in Paillasse, Benoît in Le roi l'a dit, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Alfred in La Chauve-Souris and Jean in Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame.

In the 1954 revival of Massenet's Jongleur de Notre-Dame one critic commented that Dran took the leading part "with great charm and intelligence. His voice sounded a little strained at times, but a more sensitive rendering of the role could not be imagined : even the juggling tricks and the dances were convincingly performed".

Dran appeared in the premieres of Jean-Michel Damase's Colombe at the Bordeaux May Festival in 1961, in a production by Roger Lalande conducted by the composer,La Symphonie Pastorale by Guillaume Landré in Rouen in 1968 conducted by Pierre-Michel Leconte, as the Man in Bondon's La Nuit foudroyée in Metz in 1968, and in Goya by Tony Aubin at the Théâtre Municipal de l'Opéra in Lille during the 3rd Festival de Lille in 1974, conducted by the composer.

Dran participated in a rare revival of La Basoche at Enghien-les-Bains Casino in 1958 with Lillie Grandval and Willy Clément conducted by Jésus Etcheverry, and a successful production of Delibes's Le Roi l'a dit in Bordeaux and Paris in 1959 with Christine Harbell, Hélène Régelly and Louis Noguéra, in which his Benoit was described as "skilled yet easy-going".

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