Born in Toulouse, France in 1940, he taught mathematics and music in France and then went to San Francisco (US), where he worked in films and theater (1971-1980). In 1972 he joined the Opéra de Marseille, and in 1974 -at the age of 33- became its youngest artistic director ever. He worked with several major international theaters. During the 17 years that he was artistic director of the Opéra de Marseille, he attracted talented partners and upgraded the theater to make it one of the most important and most thriving in France. He retained the basic drama repertoire with an emphasis on Verdi while enriching it with works by Richard Strauss (Elektra, 1980), Antonín Dvořák (Rusalka, 1982) and Leoš Janáček, also hosting the premiere of Darius Milhaud’s opera Christophe Colomb (version 1955). In 1980 he successfully directed the first full presentation in Marseille of Berlioz's five-act grand opéra Les Troyens. At the same time, during the period 1971-1980, he worked as director with the San Francisco Opera. His credits there include Il trovatore, Faust, Pelléas et Mélisande, Roberto Devereux and La traviata, as well as Wagner’s entire cycle of four epic operas Der Ring des Nibelungen. He died on 24/09/1991 in Marseilles. He was invited by the GNO in the 1979-80 season to direct the operas Faust (at the Olympia Theatre) and Salome (at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus). However, Salome was eventually canceled due to a strike. // Last update of the biography: March 2019 - The list of the productions below is complete.