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Appearance
Pierre Gaveaux (9 October 1761 – 5 February 1825) was a French operatic tenor and composer. He is notable for creating the role of Jason in Cherubini's Médée and for composing Léonore; ou, L'amour conjugal, the first operatic version of the story that later found fame as Beethoven's Fidelio. Early in his career, he was a conductor at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, but later moved to Paris, taking on various operatic roles and composing several operas that were performed throughout Europe. During the French Revolution, he composed a hymn to the Supreme Being. This illustration of Gaveaux by Edmé Quenedey was produced through the use of a physiognotrace, an instrument designed to trace a person's physiognomy and make semi-automated portrait aquatints.Illustration credit: Edmé Quenedey des Ricets; restored by Adam Cuerden