Jean-Philippe Lafont, a renowned French baritone, was born on February 11, 1951. He began his musical journey by studying in his native city of Toulouse, followed by advanced training at the prestigious Opéra-Studio in Paris.
Lafont's operatic debut took place on a significant note, as he performed the iconic role of Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute at the historic Salle Favart in Paris in 1974. This marked the beginning of a long and illustrious career, with regular appearances in Toulouse, where he initially portrayed the title role in Verdi's Falstaff in 1987.
Throughout his illustrious career, Lafont has graced the stages of some of the world's most renowned opera houses, including the Opéra-Comique in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, La Scala in Milan, and the Royal Opera House in London. He has become particularly synonymous with a range of iconic roles, such as the four villains in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, the Comte des Grieux in Massenet's Manon, Golaud in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, Barak in Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten, and the title roles in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Verdi's Rigoletto, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, and Verdi's Macbeth.
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