Role

:

Composer

Country

:

France

Birth

:

July 24, 1803 in Paris, France

Death

:

May 3, 1856 in Paris, France

Period

:

Romantic

Genre

:

Ballet

 

 

Opera

 

 

Vocal

 

Adolphe Adam was a French composer and music critic who lived from 1803 to 1856. He was born in Paris, France, to a musical family. His father, Louis Adam, was a composer and music teacher, and his mother, Marie-Cécile Lévy, was a pianist. Adolphe Adam showed an early interest in music and began studying piano and composition with his father at a young age. As a teenager, Adolphe Adam attended the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied under François-Adrien Boieldieu and Jean-François Le Sueur. He won several prizes for his compositions, including the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1821 for his cantata Le Premier Navigateur. This prize allowed him to study in Rome for three years, where he was exposed to the works of Italian opera composers such as Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini. Upon his return to Paris, Adolphe Adam began composing operas and ballets. His first opera, Le Chalet, premiered in 1834 and was a great success. He went on to compose several more operas, including Le Postillon de Lonjumeau (1836), which is still performed today, and Si j'étais roi (1852), which was a favorite of Napoleon III. Adolphe Adam also composed several ballets, including Giselle (1841), which is considered one of the greatest ballets of the Romantic era. The ballet tells the story of a peasant girl who dies of a broken heart after discovering that her lover is engaged to another woman. Her spirit returns to haunt him and protect him from the Wilis, a group of vengeful spirits who dance men to death. Giselle was a departure from the traditional ballets of the time, which focused on mythological or historical themes, and instead told a simple, human story. In addition to his work as a composer, Adolphe Adam was also a music critic. He wrote for several Parisian newspapers, including Le Corsaire and Le Figaro, and was known for his witty and insightful reviews. He was a champion of the music of Gioachino Rossini and was critical of the music of Richard Wagner, whom he saw as a threat to the French operatic tradition. Adolphe Adam's music was characterized by its lyricism and elegance. He was influenced by the Italian opera composers he encountered in Rome, as well as the French operatic tradition. His music was popular in his lifetime and remains so today, particularly his ballets and operas. Adolphe Adam died in Paris in 1856 at the age of 52. He was buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, where his grave can still be visited today. His legacy as a composer and music critic lives on, and his works continue to be performed and enjoyed by audiences around the world.

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