Jean-François Berthelier

Jean-François-Philibert Berthelier (14 December 1830 – 29 September 1888) was a French actor and singer, who performed many light tenor roles in opéra-comique and opéra-bouffe.

Berthelier was born in Panissières, the son of a notary. At eleven he became an orphan and moved in with a foster family. He initially worked as an office clerk in a bookstore in Lyon, where on the side he appeared on stage as an extra at the Théâtre des Célestins. His fine voice was noticed, and he made his operatic debut as Fernando in La favorite at a small provincial theatre in Poitiers in 1849. When that theatre closed, he moved to Paris, but after he was refused entry to the Conservatoire de Musique, he turned to singing in cafés-concerts, not without success. He also composed some songs under the pseudonym Berthal.

He was spotted by Jacques Offenbach and engaged in the inaugural company of the Bouffes-Parisiens, scoring a success in Les deux aveugles, and going on to triumph in Une nuit blanche (as Paimpol), Le violoneux (Pierre) and Ba-ta-clan (Kokikako); he is sometimes credited with 'discovering' Hortense Schneider.

From 1856 to 1862, Berthelier was a member of the Opéra-Comique company, creating parts in Barkouf by Offenbach and in Maître Pathelin by François Bazin, before leaving to appear at the Palais-Royal in La Vie parisienne and at the Bouffes-Parisiens in Les bergers, L'île de Tulipatan, La princesse de Trébizonde and Boule-de-Neige.

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