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Adolphe Adam
Adolphe Charles Adam is a french composer born in Paris on July 24, 1803 and died in Paris on May 3, 1856.
Biography
His father, Johann Ludwig Adam, known as Jean-Louis Adam (1758-1848), was a pianist and composer Alsatian, professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire. Poor student, Adam désertait courses with a dunce of the same scale, Eugene Sue. Adolphe Adam, after having begun to study music in secret by his father, joined the Conservatoire de Paris in 1817, was a pupil of Boïeldieu but did not hesitate to use subterfuge to make themselves known: he worked in the evening at the Gym orchestra of up to repay its stamps to those who agreed to be replaced and wrote songs and music by circumstances to others. Despite - through? -- These pranks, he acquired enough business to become winner of the Prix de Rome in 1825.
Adolphe Adam chooses the career that led then surely the most fame and the fortune: the opera composer. His master Boïeldieu the orientation towards the comic opera, then type in flux. Gradually, his reputation grew. The critical acclaim of Brasseur Preston reached the ears of the tsar and Adam won Saint Petersburg in 1839, where he was greeted by his own ballet La fille du Danube. He composed for the cavalry Écumeur seas (Morskoï Rasbonick). Adam, seen as a worthy successor to Boïeldieu, who was master of chapel at St. Petersburg, was offered by the tsar the same function, but declined.
In 1844 he was appointed a member of the Academy, the sofa 4, the Academy of Fine Arts, a musical composition. In 1847, following a dispute with the management of the Opera-Comique, he was the instigator of the creation of the National Theatre, this theatre was the first goal, highly laudable, to welcome the young composers are unable to play their books elsewhere. The first to benefit was Louis-Aimé Maillart, (you remember a little for his Dragons Villars), opera (also forgotten) Gastibelza first opened the curtain this new operatic stage. Unfortunately, these beautiful revolution ruina attempts: the National Theatre was closed in 1848 and to settle debts, Adam had to find other sources of income and began to write articles. The following year he succeeded his father as professor of piano at the Conservatoire. Although Adam even more debt in 1853, he continued to perform these tasks until his death a few days after creating the Bouffes-Parisiens his operetta, Jumping Jacks Violette.
His works
The majority of works of Adam did a short-lived success, including his many songs and piano pieces, some arrangements and orchestrations of works by other composers, some scenic cantatas, and other vocal works sacred and profane.
The Christmas Song, on lyrics by Cappeau Roquemaure, however, remains famous today under the name of Midnight, Christians. But Adam does not appear to have attached great importance because it does not say a word in his two volumes of memories.
Adam enjoyed success with more than 70 lyrical compositions, including 40 operas, 14 ballets and many operettas and vaudevilles. For the Paris Opera, he wrote Richard in Palestine, and bouquetière The Fanal, which does not won a great success. The most famous operas are The King of Yvetot, or La Giralda new Psyche, If I were king, The Chalet - about which Boieldieu wrote "I wish that this music was to me" and was most popular in France -- And The postillion of Longjumeau, even more popular abroad, the point of having often been copied, for example in Italy, he Postiglione di Longjumeau who was an oven and had to be withdrawn from the third night! In Madrid, the zarzuela Oudrid Cristobal, El Postillon de la Rioja, n'obtint a success d'estime. Today, Postillon de Longjumeau is hardly played in France, but retains an undeniable force in Germany, with a libretto translated, becoming von Der Postillon Longjumeau!
Among his 14 ballets, the most famous are the devil to four, the daughter of Jolie Ghent, La Filleule fairy, pirate and, most importantly, Giselle or Willis (1841), which portrays the love between Giselle and Albrecht.
Major works
* Ballets:
The White Cat (1830)
Faust (1833)
La Fille du Danube (1836)
The Mohicans (1837)
The Écumeur Seas (1840)
The Hamadryades (1840)
Giselle or Willis (1841)
La Jolie Fille de Ghent (1842)
The four-Devil (1843)
The daughter of marble (1845)
Griseldis or the Five Senses (1848)
The Filleule fairies (1849)
Orfa (1852)
Le Corsaire (1856)
* Operas:
The evil of the country or the Bâtelière of Brientz (1827)
Le Jeune owner and the old farmer (1829)
Peter and Catherine (1829)
Danilowa (1830)
Three Catherine (1830)
Three Days in one hour (1830)
Josephine or The Return of Wagram (1830)
The piece overall (1831)
The Grand Prix or The Journey to the common expenses (1831)
Casimir or Prime Head-to-head (1831)
His First Campaign (1832)
The Dark Diamond (1832)
The Cites or the Tribunal (1833)
Good Fortune (1834)
The Chalet (1834)
The Marquise (1835)
Micheline or L'Heure de l'esprit (1835)
The Postillon de Lonjumeau (1836)
The Faithful Berger (1838)
The Brasseur Preston (1838)
Régine or The Two Nights (1839)
The Queen for a Day (1839)
The Rose of Péronne (1840)
The Hand of iron or a secret marriage (1841)
The King of Yvetôt (1842)
Lambert Simnel (1843)
Cagliostro (1844)
Richard Palestine (1844)
The Bouquetière (1847)
The First Steps or Les Deux ou Les Génies Memories of blanchisseuse (1847)
The Toréador or perfect Agreement (1849)
The Fanal (1849)
Giralda or New Psyche (1850)
The Farfadet (1852)
The doll of Nuremberg (1852)
If I were king (1852)
Le Sourd full or L'Auberge (1853)
The King Hall (1853)
The Bijou lost (1853)
The Muletier Toledo (1854)
In Clichy episode in the life of an artist (1854)
Mam'zelle Genevieve (1856)
Falstaff (1856)
The Jumping Jacks Violette (1856)
Adolphe Adam has left two volumes of memories, alive and pleasantly written, published after his death: Recollections of a musician, Paris, 1857; Recent memories of a musician, Paris, posthumous edition of 1859. These two books have been republished in 1871. The publisher Geneva MINKOFF has also published around 1973 another book by Adolphe Adam, "Letters on the French music" and a biography of musician, written by Arthur Pougin in 1877 and entitled "Adolphe Adam, his life, career, his memoirs artistic. "
DISCOGRAPHY: Giselle, a ballet of 1841, selections: 1) Cento Soloists Orchestra led by Gianfranco Rivoli (+ Massenet: Le Cid), the Guild International du Disque = rare. 2) Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan, at Decca, superb. 3) Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by John Eliot Gardiner, among Capriccio, version surprising by its tenderness and con side "chamber". 4) edition Büsser: Conservatory Orchestra de Paris led by Jean Martinon, with Decca, this edition of Henri Büsser was long in vogue at the Paris Opera in the 1950's.
Giselle, a ballet of 1841, full: 1) London Symphony Orchestra directed by Anatole Fistoulari (+ Offenbach & Strauss), at Mercury (2 CD) 2 °) Orchestre National de l'Opera de Monte-Carlo conducted by Richard Bonynge, at Decca (2CD) 3 °) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden conducted by Richard Bonynge, at Decca (2 CD). Accuracy: registering Fistoulari comes closest to what you may hear during a performance of the ballet; strong and very expressive, it has the clarity of his catch Mercury. Both records show Bonynge partition Adam complete with orchestration of origin; some pieces did play today, including the return of hunting in the second act, but worth exploring in pure music. Of the two recordings Bonynge, the one with Monte-Carlo is the most alive, most lively, unfortunately, 15/11/07 is an import Japan. For many, it will be content to Covent Garden: the orchestra there is certainly luxurious but a little soft. 4) Sony offers a near full-1 CD, very beautiful and expressive, with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. 5) Another important is full apparently never released in CD, one of the orchestra of the Bolshoi in Moscow headed by a veteran ballet, Algis Jouraïtis. For interested in the book, it is to know, because it presents an appearance a little heavy but very expressive and very dancing with excellent soloists (violin, harp? ETC). The orchestration is not Adam, but Boris Assafiev, excellent musicologist and composer hard way that it does little more today. Moreover, the Russian choreographers have added a few pages of Ludwig Minkus (which fit enough evil to the music light and foamy Adam), as a waltz and a grand pas-de-deux.
La Jolie Fille de Ghent, ballet 1842, full: Queensland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Mogrelia, at Marco Polo
The Devil to four, ballet 1845, full: London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge, at Decca
The Filleule fairies, ballet of 1849, full: Queensland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Mogrelia, at Marco Polo
Le Corsaire, ballet of 1856, (with additions Leo Delibes): English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge, at Decca
The Cottage, comic opera of 1834 & the Farfadet, comic opera of 1852: Boursin, Peyron, etc. ... directed by Albert Wolff (Cottage) and Robert Benedetti (Farfadet at Gaîté Lyrique (deleted). Accuracy: registration of the Cottage is poor, but so far it is the only witness discographique recent surnage. The Farfadet, the service is far superior and worth the detour, if you dénichez a copy ...
The Postillon de Lonjumeau, comic opera of 1836: 1) selection in German: Gedda, Pütz, Crass, Klarwein, led by Fritz Lehan at EMI 2) full french: Aler, Le Roux, Lafont, Anderson headed by Thomas Fulton, at EMI
The Toréador, comic opera of 1849: 1) Mesplé, Amade, Clavensy, headed by Eugene Bigot, at Gaîté Lyrique 2) Jo, Aler, Trempont, headed by Richard Bonyge at Decca 3 °) Raphanel, Lécroart, Cassard, directed by Jean-Luc Tingaud at Mandala 4) extract: variations to the tune of Mozart "Ah You dirai-je Maman" = see recitals Mado Robin, Mady Mesplé, Edith Gruberova ...
If I were king, comic opera of 1856: 1) Full: Berton, Mallabrera, Bianco, headed by Richard Blareau, among Agreement. 2) Opening: Detroit Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paul Paray, at Mercury
"The doll of Nuremberg" and "Giralda" openings: New Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge, at Decca
"Midnight, Christians," song of Christmas 1847: To cite just one example among dozens of other, more or less kitsch as appropriate, more or less well-sung, "Midnight, Christians" is a partition very often bullied (both on the pace as the accompaniment or orchestration ...): Roberto Alagna, choirs and Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, headed by Michel Plasson at EMI ( "Sacred Songs")
"Marche Funèbre for the funeral of Emperor Napoleon" extract "-Napoleon Bonaparte" by the Music Keeper of Peace, led by Désiré Dondeyne, on texts dAlain Decaux, Frédéric Robert and Andre Castelot, with music by Berlioz, Catel, Dalayrac, Gossec and Méhul, recorded in 1962 at Agreement.
"Chanson du Canari," extracted from the comic opera "The Violet Jumping Jacks" and the great outdoors "From your noble ancestors" from the comic opera "If I were king": Sumi Jo, soprano, English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge, at Decca (CD "Carnival")
"Mariquita" melody, by Joan Sutherland, Richard Bonynge and soprano, piano, at Decca.
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