François-Adrien BOIELDIEU

A choirboy in Rouen, Boieldieu studied music with Charles Broche, organist at the cathedral there. He became the organist at one of the town’s churches, and composed and staged his first works, including the opéra comique La Fille coupable, which was performed to great acclaim in Rouen, followed by Rosalie et Myrza, with the famous singer Garat, who introduced him to Érard in Paris. Boieldieu’s reputation was made. The Opéra-Comique in Paris produced La Dot de Suzette in 1795 and La Famille suisse in 1797; after this, he had big hits with Zoraïme et Zulnar in 1798 and Le Calife de Bagdad in 1800. In 1798, Boieldieu became professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire but, in 1802, the failure of his marriage to a dancer caused him to flee to Russia, where he became court composer in St Petersburg. Boieldieu made a triumphant return to Paris in 1811, where he enjoyed renewed success with Jean de Paris, an opéra comique typical of the troubadour style. In 1817, he was made a member of the Institut de France and appointed professor of composition at the Conservatoire, a post which he kept until 1829 (his pupils included Fétis, Adam and Zimmermann). In 1825, Boieldieu rapidly composed La Dame blanche for the Opéra-Comique, which was his greatest success and a seminal work of the Romantic movement. Virtually self-taught, he was able to retain a simple style which allowed him to uphold a certain French tradition against the onslaughts of Rossiniism. In addition to some forty operas, Boieldieu also wrote a piano concerto, a harp concerto, a large number of romances and some chamber music.