 Initially, being equipped by nature with a clear but comparatively thin voice, he appears to have stood in the French "haute-contre" tradition of singing.So, when he first went to Italy, he naturally assumed equivalent "tenore contraltino" roles in operas written by Rossini.However, he failed to make any great impression on Italian audiences with his Rossinian endeavours, perhaps because of his deeply rooted disinclination to indulge in displays of coloratura.