Adam

Adam

Adolphe Charles Adam ( 24 July 1803 – 3 May 1856 ) was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle (1841) and Le corsaire (1856), his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau (1836) and Si j'étais roi (1852) and his Christmas carol "Minuit, chrétiens!" (Midnight, Christians, 1844, known in English as "O Holy Night").

Adam was the son of a well-known composer and pianist, but his father did not wish him to pursue a musical career. Adam defied his father, and his many operas and ballets earned him a good living until he lost all his money in 1848 in a disastrous bid to open a new opera house in Paris in competition with the Opéra and Opéra-Comique. He recovered, and extended his activities to journalism and teaching. He was appointed as a professor at the Paris Conservatoire, France's principal music academy.

Subscribe Share
Adam
  • Le corsaire (2016)

    Le corsaire by A. Adam, from Vienna State Opera, performed at Wiener Staatsoper, 2016. Conductor Valery Ovsyanikov, starring Natascha Mair, Davide Dato, Maria Yakovleva, Liudmila Konovalova, Alice Firenze, Prisca Zeisel, Nina Tonoli, Robert Gabdullin, Kirill Kourlaev, Mihail Sosnovschi and Vienna...

  • Le Corsaire (2014)

    Le Corsaire by A. Adam, from English National Ballet, performed at London Coliseum, 2014. Conductor Gavin Sutherland, starring Michael Coleman, Alina Cojocaru, Vadim Muntagirov, Dmitri Gruzdyev, Erina Takahashi, Yonah Acosta and Junor Souza.

  • Giselle (2016)

    Giselle by A. Adam, from The Royal Ballet, performed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 2016. Conductor Barry Wordsworth, starring Marianela Nuñez, Vadim Muntagirov, Eric Underwood, Gary Avis, Olivia Cowley, Itziar Mendizabal, Bennet Gartside, Elizabeth McGorian, Christina Arestis, Johannes Ste...

  • Le Postillon de Lonjumeau (2019)

    Le Postillon de Lonjumeau by A. Adam, from Opéra Comique, 2019. Directed by Michel Fau, conductor Sébastien Rouland, starring Michel Fau, Michael Spyres, Florie Valiquette, Franck Leguérinel, Yannis Ezziadi, Laurent Kubla. Performed in French and subtitled in English, French, German, Japanese and...