THE DAWN OF A CAREER
Studies and Stage Début
He was born in Montreal in December 1901 into a family that enjoyed making music. He began studying singing at the age of 19 and subsequently enhanced his training with lessons in harmony, composition, and acting. 1926 was a breakthrough year: he made his opera début in Mireille (Gounod), he gave his first recital at the Ritz Carlton, he recorded his 2 first 78 rpm discs, and won the Prix d’Europe, a grant allowing him to pursue advanced studies in Paris where he perfected his skills as an opera singer and stage director with Émile Marcellin of the Opéra-Comique, and as a composer with Marcel Dupré and Darius Milhaud.
Lionel Daunais married Fernande Gauthier in 1927 at the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris—the couple had 4 children: Nicole, Francine, Jean, and Louise—and in 1929 he was engaged as first baritone at the Algiers Opera, performing more than 20 roles during the company’s 1929-1930 season. by Healey Willan and that of Clément Marot in by André Messager. As a first soloist with the Société Canadienne d’Opérette, he sang many roles with this troupe until 1935.
