Adam, Adolphe (EN)

Adam Adolphe Charles, *24 July 1803 Paris, †3 May 1856 Paris, son of Louis, French composer. In 1817, he began studying at the Paris Conservatoire. Initially, he studied organ playing with F. Benoist; he soon became famous as an improviser on the organ, harmonium and piano. He studied composition with A. Rejcha and then with F.A. Boieldieu, who sparked his interest in opéra comique. A friendship developed between Boieldieu and Adam; Boieldieu even entrusted him with arranging the overture to his opera La Dame Blanche. In 1825, Adam won the Prix de Rome (second place); his early compositions date from this period: piano pieces and transcriptions of popular opera melodies for keyboard instruments. In 1829, he made his debut as an opera composer with the one-act opéra comique Pierre et Cathérine. Over the next two years, he wrote five opéras comiques, which established his reputation as a composer of this genre. In 1832, he stayed in London, where his ballet Faust was very well received. In 1836, Adam’s most famous opera, Le Postillon de Longjumeau, was written, and in 1841, the ballet Giselle. In 1844, Adam became a member of the Institut de France. In 1847–48, he ran his own opera theatre, the Théâtre National. In 1849, he took over the piano class at the Paris Conservatoire; his students included L. Delibes. Adam also worked as a music critic, and some of his reviews and columns were published posthumously in the collections Souvenirs d’un musicien and Derniers souvenirs d’un musicien.

Adam’s compositional output consists primarily of stage music: over 40 operas and 13 ballets. The premieres of all his operas (with the exception of His First Campaign, London 1832) and ballets (with the exception of Faust, London 1832) took place in Paris. Adam’s compositional activity coincided with the heyday of the so-called French grand opéra, but this genre appears only sporadically in his work (Richard en Palestine). Alongside Boieldieu and Auber, Adam was one of the leading creators of French opéra comique during the Romantic period. He consciously set himself the goal of entertaining his audience, which is why he emphasised situational comedy in his operas and made use of accessible musical means, highlighting melodies with simple, light and graceful cantilenas. Adam’s operas, especially Le Postillon de Longjumeau, were very popular in the 19th century; today they are of historical interest only. The ballet Giselle, a classic example of Romantic ballet, has remained in the repertoire to this day. The libretto of Giselle, based on a legend recorded by H. Heine, presents typical Romantic motifs (the unhappy love of a prince for a girl of the people, the intertwining of the supernatural with the real world, the apparitions of the Wilis) and a Romantic setting (forest, lake, moon, grave); melody constitutes the principal means of musical expression. Shortly after its Paris premiere (1841), the ballet enjoyed enormous success on other stages around the world (London and St Petersburg in 1842, Milan and Moscow in 1843, Boston in 1846, Warsaw in 1848). In addition to its musical qualities, this success was due to the simple, harmonious choreography by J. Coralli and J. Perrot (R. Turczynowieża). Adam’s stage works reached Poland relatively quickly and enjoyed great popularity. His Bravour variations sur un thème de Mozart for solo voice, flute and orchestra are a permanent feature of the coloratura repertoire.

Literature: Adolphe Adam. Souvenirs d’un musicien, Paris 1857, 2nd edition 1871 (contains an autobiography); Adolphe Adam. Derniers souvenirs d’un musicien, Paris 1859, 2nd edition 1871; J. Halévy Notice sur la vie et les ouvrages de Adolphe Adam, Paris 1859; A. Pougin Adolphe Adam, Paris 1877; C.W. Beaumont The Ballet Called Giselle, Londyn 1944; F. Halévy Notice sur la vie et les ouvrages de Adolphe Adam, Paris 1859, reprint in: F. Halévy Souvenirs et portraits, Paris 1861; W.E. Studwell Adolphe Adam and Léo Delibes. A Guide to Research, New York 1987.