Adolphe Adam

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Read Next

the Beatles. Publicity still from Help! (1965) directed by Richard Lester starring The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) a British musical quartet. film rock music movie

What's the Difference Between Tempo and Rhythm?

Woman Playing a Theorbo to Two Men, oil on canvas by Gerard Terborch, 1667-1668. (Baroque Art)

What’s That Sound?: 8 Intriguing Early Musical Instruments

Pregnant woman holding headphones on her belly

Does Listening to Mozart Make Kids Smarter?

The last big concert of Jimi Hendrix before he died in London was in Germany on the isle of Fehmarn 6th of September 1970. The festival was called Love-and-Peace-Festival.

Is 27 an Especially Deadly Age for Musicians?

Odissi Indian classical female dancer on white background. (Indian dancer; classical dancer; Indian dance)

6 Classical Dances of India

Discover

A human Inuit skull in a stone chambered cairn in Ilulissat in Greenland. These ancient graves are pre christian and are at least 2000

14 Tough Questions Answered

Why Is Ireland Two Countries?

An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.

11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England

Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.

10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci

Woman tied to a ducking stool, a method of punishment by means of humiliation, beating, or death. (cucking stool)

8 Unusual Punishments Inflicted on Women Throughout History

Diverse elementary school children wearing school uniforms running outside of school. Boys girls

Pro and Con: School Uniforms

Adolphe Adam

French composer

Also known as: Adolphe-Charles Adam

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Quick Facts

In full:: Adolphe-Charles Adam

Born:: July 24, 1803, Paris, France

Died:: May 3, 1856, Paris

Also Known As:: Adolphe-Charles Adam

Notable Works:: “Giselle”

See all related content

Adolphe Adam (born July 24, 1803, Paris, France—died May 3, 1856, Paris) was a French composer whose music for the ballet Giselle (1841) is noted for its easy grace and cogency. It has retained its popularity with dancers and audiences to the present day.

Adam wrote more than 70operas, of which the most popular in their day were Le Châlet (1834), Le Postillon de Longjumeau (1836), and Giralda (1850). In his ballets—which he composed for production in London, Berlin, and St. Petersburg, as well as Paris—he skillfully coordinated the music with choreographic demands. His works were successful during the mid-19th century, but few, other than Giselle, are regularly revived.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.