Jocelyne Taillon

Jocelyne Taillon (19 May 1941 in Doudeville – 10 June 2004 in Rouen) was a French lyrical singer.

Life and career Taillon won the first prize at the 1966 Monte Carlo Singing Competition and embarked on a career as a concert artist.

She made her stage debut in Ariane et Barbe-Bleue by Dukas in Bordeaux in 1968, and in Geneva she appeared in Macbeth by Bloch. She was then seen at the houses in Nantes, Marseille and at the Paris Opéra. In 1970 she took part in the Holland Festival, and at Glyndebourne in 1971 (Geneviève).

Taillon made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1979 (Cieca in La Gioconda) and sang there for several seasons including Anna (Les Troyens), Quickly (Falstaff) and Erda (Der Ring des Nibelungen). In Nantes she took part in rare revivals of French works such as Le Roi l'a dit by Delibes and Pénélope by Fauré.

Her voice was described as "deep and warm" and she displayed a "dramatic intensity which allowed her to make a mark in secondary roles".

Selected recordings Rossini - William Tell (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Lamberto Gardelli) recorded 1972, EMI - Hedwige Debussy - Pelléas et Mélisande (Orchestre de Lyon, Serge Baudo) recorded 1978, Eurodisc - Geneviève Ravel - L'enfant et les sortilèges (London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn) recorded 1981, EMI - Mother, Cup, Dragonfly, Owl Berlioz - Les Troyens (Metropolitan Opera orchestra and chorus, James Levine) recorded 1983, Deutsche Grammophon DVD - Anna