François le Roux

François Le Roux is a French baritone. Le Roux began vocal studies at 19 with François Loup, winning prizes in Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro. He was a member of the Lyon Opera Company from 1980 to 1985, before appearing in many international houses, making his Paris Opéra debut in 1988 as Valentin in Gounod's Faust. He is most renowned for his portrayal of Pelléas in Debussy's opera, first singing the role in 1985 and being hailed by critics as "the greatest Pelléas of his generation". Since 1998 he has also sung Golaud in the same opera to similar acclaim. It was as Golaud he sang in the centenary performance at the Opéra-Comique, and also in the Russian national premiere. He voiced Gaston, the villainous hunter in the European French dub of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast.