Ballet Composer Profile: Adolphe Adam | Part 1
Name: Adolphe Charles Adam
Birth: 24th July 1803, Paris, France
Death: 3rd May 1856, Paris, France
Musical Study:
There is no doubt that Adolphe Adam came from a musical family. His father was the esteemed composer and pianist Louis Adam, who also taught at the Paris Conservatoire. His mother, Élisa, had been a pupil of Louis’, leading her to become his third wife.
Initially, Adolphe was given music lessons by his father, however, he was disinclined to learn music theory, favouring instead to play by ear. Later, he confessed that he never became all that skilled at sight-reading music from the score. Preferring a rigorous education for their son, Adolphe was soon sent to ‘The Hix Institute’, a boarding school in the Champs- Élysées, which offered both academic and musical tuition to a high standard. However, due to the fall of the French Empire in 1814-15, the Adam family’s income was drastically affected necessitating Adolphe’s transferal to a less expensive school.
It was at the age of 17 that Adolphe entered the Paris Conservatoire. He studied composition with Adrien Boieldieu, counterpoint with Anton Reicha, and organ with François Benoist. Although, Louis Adam was himself a composer, he did not encourage his son to follow suit, preferring Adolphe to pursue a more stable career. He was generous enough to provide Adolphe with lodgings, however refused to support musical activities, leading Adolphe to find ways to earn money from music; including writing songs for the Paris Vaudeville Theatres, so-called ‘trashy’ romantic piano pieces, and offering music lessons.
Soon his fortune improved by an unusual turn of events. In the new Théâtre du Gymnase, he was offered an unpaid position to play the triangle in the orchestra by the chorus master and timpanist Duchaume. Delighted with this opportunity, Adolphe later claimed that he would have paid for the position a he was so willing to serve. This generosity of nature to work without pay led him to receive a transformative promotion. Duchaume passed away and Adolphe took his place as chorus master and timpanist with a salary of 600 francs a year- in his words… ‘a fortune!’
Later in 1824, he entered the prestigious musical competition- the Prix de Rome- gaining an honourable mention. A year later, on his second attempt, he won second prize.
“I loved music, but I didn’t want to learn it. I would sit quiet for hours, listening to my father play the piano, and as soon as I was alone I tapped on the instrument without knowing my notes. I knew without realising it how to find the harmonies. I didn’t want to do scales or read music; I always improvised.”
Ballet Scores:
Adolphe Adam wrote many ballet scores over his lifetime, with many lost to time. To prevent these blog posts becoming too lengthy I will list all the ballets he wrote in order, but only talk in detail about the scores that he was most recognised for, or were most integral to his journey.
La Chatte Blanche (1830)
La Chatte Blanche (The White Cat) was described more as an English Pantomime than a fully fledged ballet. It was likely based on a French fairytale by the same name, written by Madame d’Aulnoy and published in 1698. This one act ‘pantomime’ was composed jointly by Adolphe Adam and Casimir Gide, though the original choreographer remains unknown. The ballet had its premiere on the 26th July 1830 at the Théâtre des Nouveautés in Paris.
Faust (1833)
Adolphe’s ‘grand-ballet’ Faust is one of the many ‘Faust Ballets’ that were created between the 18th and 20th centuries, with other productions dating from as early as 1732. In this three act interpretation, the choreography and libretto was by André-Jean-Jacques Deshayes. It was premiered on the 16th February 1833 at the King’s Theatre in London.
La Fille du Danube (1836)
La Fille du Danube was a two act ballet-pantomime created by the choreographer Filippo Taglioni for his daughter Marie Taglioni. The libretto was written by Eugène Desmares. It was premiered on the 21st September 1836 at the Théâtre de l’Académie Royale de Musique in Paris.
Les Mohicans (1837)
This two act ballet was choreographed by Antonio Guerra, with Libretto by Léon Halévy. It was premiered on the 5th of July, 1837 at the Théâtre de l’Académie Royale de Musique in Paris.
L'Écumeur des Mers (1840)
L'Écumeur des Mers (The Sea Raider) was a two act ballet-pantomime, with choreography and libretto by Joseph Mazilier. It was premiered on the 10th May 1840 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg.
Die Hamadryaden (1840)
Die Hamadryaden (The Hamadryads) was a two act opera-ballet, with choreography by Paul Taglioni and libretto by de Colombey. It was premiered on the 28th April, 1840 at the Königliches Opernhaus in Berlin.
Giselle (1841)
Giselle is certainly the ballet that Adolphe Adam is most renowned for, since it has been established as a key work in the classical ballet repertory. It is a ballet pantomime in two acts, with choreography by Jean Coralli (assisted by Jules Perrot) and libretto by Théophile Gautier and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, inspired by a prose passage from De l'Allemagne by Heinrich Heine and a poem titled "Fantômes" from Les Orientales by Victor Hugo.
On receiving the commission to compose the music for Giselle, Adam eagerly accepted, managing to complete the score in just over one week. The music wasn’t deemed hugely remarkable, yet it captured the charm of the libretto and was full of enchanting melodies that would appeal to a ballet audience. The ballet had its premiere on the 28th June, 1841 at the Théâtre de l’Académie Royale de Musique in Paris. It was an undeniable success, being considered a masterwork within the ballet repertoire. Its huge popularity led to its immediate staging across Europe, Russia and the United States of America.
Nowadays, many recognise Giselle as the earliest ballet in which a substantial amount of the original choreography is still remembered and performed. Unusually, the sections of choreography that have been lost to time has likely been due to the the fact that sections of the original score and music have fallen out of use, and have been replaced with new, fresher music, and therefore new choreography as well. Sometimes composers were drafted in to compose the additional sections, or sometimes music that was already written was found and then inserted into the score. For example, two of the composers commissioned to write additional sections included Cesare Pugni and Riccardo Drigo. An example of found music is the use of Friedrich Burgmüller's suite titled Souvenirs de Ratisbonne to score the Pas des Paysans (or Peasant pas de deux). Many of these replaced sections have become hallowed by time and are now accepted as part of the work. Nevertheless, it still means that when we attend a production of Giselle, we are not only hearing the work of Adolphe Adam, but a collaboration between several composers, who are rarely acknowledged for their contribution.
“By no stretch of the imagination can the score of Giselle be called great music, but it cannot be denied that it is admirably suited to its purpose. It is danceable, and it has colour and mood attuned to the various dramatic situations ... As we listen today to these haunting melodies composed over a century ago, we quickly become conscious of their intense nostalgic quality, not unlike the opening of a Victorian Keepsake, between whose pages lies an admirably preserved Valentine—in all the glory of its intricate paper lace and symbolic floral designs—which whispers of a leisured age now forever past. For a brief space the air seems faintly perfumed with parma violet and gardenia. The music of Giselle still exerts its magic.”
