Boieldieu, François Adrien

Boieldieu, François Adrien (fräNswä` ädrēăN` bwäldyö`), 1775–1834, French composer. He studied with the organist of the cathedral in Rouen and composed one successful opera, Le Calife de Bagdad (1800), before he went to St. Petersburg. There he conducted (1803–11) the Imperial Opera. After his return to Paris his graceful opéras comiques, such as Jean de Paris (1812) and La Dame blanche (1825), were popular. He taught piano and composition at the Paris Conservatory.

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Boieldieu, François Adrien 

Born Dec. 16, 1775, in Rouen; died Oct. 8, 1834, at Jarcy, near Paris. French composer. Member of the Institute of France (1817).

In 1798, Boieldieu began teaching a piano class at the Paris Conservatory. During the years 1804-11 he served as conductor of the French opera troupe attached to the court at St. Petersburg. (In 1808 he went on tour with this troupe in Moscow.) In 1820, Boieldieu became a professor at the Paris Conservatory (composition class). A. Adam was one of his students.

Boieldieu was the most prominent representative of French comic opera during the first third of the 19th century. He wrote approximately 40 operas (several of them with other composers), including The Caliph of Baghdad (1800), Jean of Paris (1812), and Little Red Riding Hood (1818). A vivid example of the romantic tendency in French comic opera is his The White Lady (1825). He also wrote numerous romances and piano pieces. Boieldieu’s music is distinguished by its melodic quality and refinement.

REFERENCES

Findeizin, N. “Boal’d’e i pridvornaia frantsuzskaia opera v S.-Peterburge v nachale 19 v.” Ezhegodnik imperatorskikh teatrov, 1910, issue 5.
Pougin, A. Boieldieu: Sa vie, ses oeuvres, son caractère, sa correspondance. Paris, 1875.
Favre, G. Boieldieu: Sa vie, son ouevre, vols. 1-2. Paris, 1944-45.