Prosper Dérivis

Nicolas-Prosper Dérivis (28 October 1808 - 11 February 1880) was a French operatic bass. He possessed a rich deep voice that had a great carrying power. While he could easily assail heavy dramatic roles, he was also capable of executing difficult coloratura passages and performing more lyrical parts. Along with Nicolas Levasseur, he was one of the greatest French basses of his generation.

Born in Paris, Dérivis was the son of operatic bass Henri-Étienne Dérivis. He studied singing at the Conservatoire de Paris with Auguste Nourrit and Felice Pellegrini. He made his professional debut at the Paris Opera in 1831 as Pharaon in Gioachino Rossini's Moïse et Pharaon. He remained committed to that opera house for the next ten years, notably performing in the world premieres of Fromental Halévy's La tentation (1832), Daniel Auber's Le serment (1832), Luigi Cherubini's Ali Baba (1833), Halevy's La Juive (1835, the Herald), Giacomo Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots (1836, the Comte de Nevers), Louis Niedermeyer's Stradella (1837), Halevy's Guido et Ginevra (1838, the Duke of Ferrara), Hector Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini (1838, Balducci), Gaetano Donizetti's Les martyrs (1840, Félix), and Ambroise Thomas's Le comte de Carmagnola (1841). He was also heard successfully in Paris as Balthazar in Donizetti's La favorite and in the title roles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni and Rossini's Guillaume Tell.

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