The larynx of Julián Gayarre (1844-1890). The symbol of the voice of a genius.

Abstract

Julián Gayarre was a nineteenth-century Spanish tenor who delighted the audiences of the world’s best opera houses with his magnificent voice. His contemporaries referred to him as the tenor with the voice of an angel, and many dubbed him the “Divine” Gayarre. In his time, Gayarre was considered a genius, a man with a unique voice.

Following his death, which was a consequence of the flu epidemic which beset Madrid, his larynx was extracted and analysed in an attempt to discover the secret behind his marvellous voice. Once the studies had been completed, the larynx was preserved like a relic. It is now kept in the Casa Museo Julián Gayarre.

Gayarre inspired such admiration that the Italian tenor Giuseppe Anselmi donated his own heart so that it could be placed next to Gayarre’s portrait bust. Anselmi’s heart is now in the Museo del Teatro Nacional.

After a short biographical outline, this article analyses several events connected with the death of Gayarre.  We move on to consider the texts which were published after the larynx had been examined, and conclude with a discussion of the offering which Anselmi made in the distinguished tenor’s honour.