Editing Adolphe Adam (section)

{{short description|French composer (1803–1856)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
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[[File:Adolphe Adam by Maurin.jpg|thumb|Adam in 1840, by [[Nicolas Eustache Maurin]]|alt=neatly bearded white man of middle years, wearing glasses]]
'''Adolphe Charles Adam''' ({{IPA|fr|adɔlf adɑ̃|lang}}; 24 July 1803 – 3 May 1856) was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets ''[[Giselle]]'' (1841) and ''[[Le corsaire]]'' (1856), his operas ''[[Le postillon de Lonjumeau]]'' (1836) and ''[[Si j'étais roi]]'' (1852) and his [[Christmas carol]] "Minuit, chrétiens!" (Midnight, Christians, 1847, known in English as "[[O Holy Night]]").

Adam was the son of a well-known composer and pianist, but his father did not wish him to pursue a musical career. Adam defied his father, and his many operas and ballets earned him a good living until he lost all his money in 1848 in a disastrous bid to open a new opera house in Paris in competition with the [[Paris Opéra|Opéra]] and [[Opéra-Comique]]. He recovered, and extended his activities to journalism and teaching. He was appointed as a professor at the [[Conservatoire de Paris|Paris Conservatoire]], France's principal music academy.

Together with his older contemporary [[Daniel Auber]] and his teacher [[François-Adrien Boieldieu|Adrien Boieldieu]], Adam is credited with creating the later Romantic French form of opera.