Giovanni Inchindi

Inchindi as Max in Le chalet

Jean-François Hennekindt, also known as Giovanni Inchindi (12 March 1798 – 23 August 1876) was a Belgian opera singer born in Bruges who began his career as a tenor but went on to become the one of the premier baritones in France and abroad, with a voice known for its ease in both low and high passages and adaptability to different kinds of roles.^[1]

He studied singing in his hometown and debuted at the Théâtre royal d'Anvers as Cinna in La vestale. In 1822 he was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied singing with Plantade and declamation Baptiste the elder. The next year, having won a prize for his singing, he debuted at the Paris Opera as a cover for the famous basse-taille Prosper Dérivis. The Pasha in Le caravanne du Caïre and Œdipe in Œdipe à Colone were his greatest successes. He spent 1823, 1824, and 1825 at the Opéra, and as his vocal means were not fully in order, he found himself switching between bass and tenor.^[2]

Being frustrated with the lack of encouragement he had gotten thus far, he moved to Italy to study singing anew. It was here that he changed his name to the more Italian "Inchindi", and appeared as Lusignano in the premiere production of Vincenzo Bellini's Zaira in May 1829 in Parma. He returned to Paris a virtuoso baritone and made his second debut on October 1, 1829 in the role of Assur in Rossini's Semiramide. His critics remarked on how his technique and voice had improved, become fuller and more beautiful.

In 1834 he created the role of Max in Adolphe Adam's opera Le chalet for the Opéra-Comique, which was a triumph for him^[3]—so much so that this role came to define the low baritone voice part in France for many decades. He sang in Madrid in 1845 and finished his career in Spain.

He spent his later years between Madrid and Paris but died suddenly on a trip to Brussels in 1876.

During his career his repertoire also included Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia,^[4] Aliprando in Donizetti's Matilde di Shabran, and his Belisario.

References

1. Noël, Édouard; Stoullig, Edmond (1877). Les Annales du théâtre et de la musique: deuxième année 1876. Oxford University: Charpentier. p. 879.
2. Multiple, Authors (1876). Le Guide Musical: Revue Internationale de la Musique Et de Theâtres Lyriques, Volume 22. University of Michigan.
3. Véron, Louis Désiré (1834). Revue de Paris, Volumes 9-10. Princeton University: Bureau de la Revue de Paris. p. 292.
4. Banés, Paul (1834). La France littéraire. Lyon Public Library: P. Baudouin. p. 368.