Marc Bonnehée by Petit with autograph

Marc Bonnehée (1828-1886); French baritone who created the role of Guy de Montfort in Verdi's "Les Vêpres Siciliennes" in 1855 at the Grand Opéra Paris.
He started his vocal studies at the Toulouse Conservatory and finished them at the Conservatoire National de Paris. In 1853 he made his debut at the Grand Opera Paris as Alphonse in Donizetti's "La Favorita". Until the end of his career in 1873 he was engaged by the Grand Opéra. In 1855 he created the role Of Guy de Montfort at the première of Verdi's "Les Vêpres Siciliennes". In 1858 he created Stello de Nici in Halévy's "La Magicienne" and in 1860 Julien de Médicis in Poniatowski's opera "Pierre de Médicis". In 1865 he made very successful guest appearances in Spain. His most memorable roles were William Tell in Rossini's "Guillaume Tell", Count Luna in Verdi's "Il Trovatore", Enrico in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor", Cinna in Spontini's "La Vestale" and Lusignan in Halévy's "La Reine de Chypre". Later in his career he was a vocal teacher in Paris and in 1879 he was appointed as a professor at the Conservatoire National de Paris.

The dedication is to the French painter Ernest Michel (1833-1902).