Born in
Muret (Haute-Garonne), Ibos continued his musical studies at the
Conservatoire de Paris, where he won
first prize. He was immediately hired at the Paris Opera. He made his debut at the
Opéra Garnier as a young
tenor in 1882, playing the role of Fernando in Donizetti's
La Favorite, which he played again in 1885. He became one of the main French tenors of the
Belle Époque. He was toured extensively to sing his repertoire, notably in Madrid, Brussels, Geneva, Vienna, and St. Petersburg. He toured the United States in 1897–1898. His debut at
La Scala took place in 1904. Since Ibos was a friend of
Jules Massenet, the latter modified the score of the character of
Werther, previously planned for a
baritone, and remade it to suit the tenor role. The premiere was held at the
Vienna State Opera (in a German translation) on 16 February 1892 and the première in French at the Théâtre de Genève on 27 December 1892. The work was presented at the
Opéra-Comique on 16 January 1893 with Ibos in the title role. Ibos also played major roles such as the Duke in
Rigoletto, Don Ottavio in
Don Giovanni, Roméo in
Roméo et Juliette, Vasco in Meyerbeer's ''
L'Africaine, Raoul in Les Huguenots'', and Don Gomez in Camille Saint-Saëns'
Henry VIII. He also sang
Wagner and was nicknamed "the King of Lohengrin". Ibos died in
Montesquieu-Volvestre (
Haute-Garonne). The Clément-Ader museum of Muret keeps the written archives (correspondence, photographs, sheet music, various documents), certain stage costumes, recordings, posters and props of this great tenor of the
Belle Époque. ==Notes==