Jacques Halévy

Jacques Halévy (1799-1862), French composer, born in Paris. He studied with the Italian composer Luigi Cherubini at the Paris Conservatoire, where he later was professor of harmony and of composition, numbering among his pupils Georges Bizet and Charles Gounod. His grand opera La juive (The Jewess), produced at the Paris Opéra in 1835, established Halévy's reputation as an operatic composer. Halévy composed more than 30 operas, and although many of them were hurriedly written and marred by poor librettos and careless workmanship, his best works reveal talent for soaring melody, vivid dramatic characterization, and theatrical effectiveness.