Charles Gounod

Charles Gounod (1818-1893), French composer of opera and sacred music, known for his opera Faust (1859). He was born in Paris. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire under the French composer Jacques François Halévy and in 1839 won the Grand Prix de Rome, which enabled him to study in Italy. There he concentrated on the works of early composers of sacred music. Subsequently he was an organist in Paris and studied for the priesthood; after his first opera was produced in 1851, he gave up this study and devoted himself to musical composition. His first success was the light opera Le médecin malgré lui (The Doctor in Spite of Himself, 1858), based on a comedy by the French playwright Molière. His fame, however, rests on his next opera, Faust, based on the poem by Goethe. Gounod's ten other operas include Mireille (1864) and Roméo et Juliette (1867). His opera music is more noted for its lyric than dramatic quality; it has charm and melodic invention and is expertly orchestrated. His sacred music, which was tremendously popular during his lifetime, especially in Great Britain, includes oratorios, masses, motets, hymns, and the well-known Ave Maria based on a prelude by Johann Sebastian Bach. Among his writings is Mémoires d'un artiste (published posthumously, 1896).