Jules-Bernard Belval (1819-1876); French bass.

He started his vocal studies in 1843 at the Conservatoire National in Paris. In 1846 he made his debut at the Opera of Antwerp in Belgium. In the following years he sang at Toulouse and Lyon in France, The Hague in The Netherlands and Ghent and Brussels in Belgium. In 1855 he was engaged at the Grand Opéra Paris, where he debuted as Bertram in Meyerbeer's "Robert le Diable". He remained at the Grand Opéra until 1876, but also made guest appearances in other French cities during those years. He sang in several important world premieres : in1855 as Gargantua in Labarre's "Pantagruel", in 1858 as Count of Poitou in Halévy's "La Magicienne", in 1864 as Turpin in Mermet's "Roland à Roncevaux",in 1862 as Soliman in Gounod's "La Reine de Saba", in 1865 as Don Pedro in Meyerbeer's "L'Africaine " and in 1868 as Claudius,King of Denmnark in "Hamlet" by Ambroise Thomas. His daughter Marie Belval (1853-1901) was a well known soprano who made her debut in 1873 at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris.