François Adrien Boieldieu (1775 - 1834) France François-Adrien Boieldieu (16 December 1775, Rouen ? 8 October 1834, Varennes-Jarcy, Essonne) was a French composer, mainly of operas, often called "the French Mozart".
In 1825 he produced his masterpiece, La dame blanche (revived in the Salle Favart in 1997 and recorded by the conductor Marc Minkowski). Unusual for the time, La dame blanche was based on episodes from two novels by Walter Scott. The libretto by Eugène Scribe is built around the theme of the long lost child fortunately recognized at a moment of peril. The style of the opera influenced Lucia di Lammermoor, I puritani and La jolie fille de Perth. La dame blanche was one of the first attempts to introduce the fantastic into opera.
Although his reputation is largely based upon his operas, Boieldieu also composed other works. Among them was his Harp Concerto in C, written in 1800-1801 and one of the masterpieces of the harp repertory.
Boieldieu died in Varennes-Jarcy. On 13 November 1834 his heart was interred in Rouen, in a tomb paid for by that city, while his body was interred in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
France
francois-adrien-boieldieu
