Editing Adolphe Adam (section)

===Financial disaster===

In 1845 [[François-Louis Crosnier]], director of the Opéra-Comique, resigned and was succeeded by [[Alexandre Basset]]. Basset soon fell out with Adam and told him that as long as he was director, Adam's works would never be performed at the Opéra-Comique.<ref name=w2>Walsh, pp. 2–4</ref> Early in 1847 a theatre in the [[Boulevard du Temple]] became available, and Adam, in partnership with the actor Achille Mirecour, took it over, rechristening it the [[Opéra-National]]. The cost of refurbishing the theatre was enormous, and in addition to investing his own money, Adam raised large sums in loans.<ref name=w2/> The new opera house opened in November 1847, but from the outset its prospects looked doubtful. Financial and artistic performance alike were poor, and the [[French Revolution of 1848|1848 Revolution]] was the final blow to the enterprise. The theatres were closed by the incoming régime, and when they were permitted to re-open, there was little demand for tickets at Adam's opera house, which closed on 28 March 1848, after the production of nine operas during its four months of existence, leaving him financially ruined.<ref>Walsh, pp. 4 and 359</ref>

Adam assigned the royalties from his earlier works to help pay off his debts, and like many other French composers in need of money he turned to journalism to earn extra income.{{refn|[[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz]], [[Gabriel Fauré|Fauré]], [[André Messager|Messager]], [[Paul Dukas|Dukas]] and [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]] all practised journalism during their careers.<ref>Macdonald, Hugh. [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051424 "Berlioz, (Louis-)Hector"]; Nectoux, Jean-Michel. [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000009366 "Fauré, Gabriel"]; Wagstaff, John, and Andrew Lamb. [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000018492 "Messager, André"]; Schwartz, Manuela, and G.W. Hopkins. [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000008282 "Dukas, Paul"]; and Lesure, François, and Roy Howat [https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000007353. "Debussy, (Achille-)Claude"], ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press. Retrieved 12 September 2021 {{subscription required}}</ref>|group=n}} He contributed reviews and articles to ''[[Le Constitutionnel]]'' and the ''Assemblée nationale''. He also became a teacher, accepting the post of professor of composition at the Conservatoire, where his students included [[Léo Delibes]].<ref>Curzon, p. 9</ref> Meanwhile, Basset having left the Opéra-Comique at the time of the revolution, Adam was able to return to what Forbes calls his spiritual home under its new director, [[Émile Perrin]].<ref name=grove/>