 Massard was born in Pau, France, and was mainly self-taught.After singing in his native province, Massard made his professional debut at the Paris Opera in 1952, as the High Priest in "Samson et Dalila", shortly followed by Valentin in "Faust".The same year, he also made his debut at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, as Thoas in "Iphigénie en Tauride".