French tenor Tibère Raffalli passed away on Nov. 20, 2020 at the age of 69.

Born in Bastia on the French island of Corsica in 1951, the tenor went on to be a specialist of the French repertoire, with a focus on comic opera.

His big breakout came in the productions of Reynaldo Hahn’s “Merchant of Venice” and Luigi Cherubini’s “Porteur d’eau” at the Salle Favart in 1979 and 1980.

He would become a big advocate for unknown works and recorded the role of Falsacappa in Jacques Offenbach’s “Les Brigands” under the baton of John Eliot Gardiner. He also recorded Gonzalve in Maurice Ravel’s “L’Heure espagnole” with Armin Jordan. Both recordings were released by Erato / Warner Classics.

Raffalli would also become a major performer for the Glyndebourne touring company.