Pedro Gailhard

Gifted with an exceptional singing bass voice, Pedro Gailhard made his debut at the Opéra-Comique in December 1867, then sang at the Opéra Garnier, as Mephisto in Faust by Charles Gounod in 1871, a role which he also sang at Covent Garden. His interprétation of Leporello in Don Giovanni by Mozart was considered remarkable, as was his portrayal of other roles, such as Osmin in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Kaspar in Weber's Der Freischütz, the King in Thomas' Hamlet, Pythéas in Gounod's Sapho, Saint-Bris and Nevers in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots, and Faust in Boito's Mefistofele.
Pedro Gailhard was the first lyric artist to be named director of the Paris Opera, which he headed from 1884 to 1891 and from 1893 to 1907. He was mentioned as such in the novel The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux.