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Louis Joseph Ferdinand HeroldLouis Joseph Ferdinand Herold (Paris, January 28, 1791 - Thernes, January 19, 1833) is a French operatic composer of Alsatian descent who also wrote many pieces for the piano and orchestra. He is best know today for the overture to the opera Zampa and the ballet La Fille Mal Garde. (His name is often misspelled as Hrold) Biography L.J.F. Herold was the only child of Franois-Joseph Herold, a pianist/composer, and Jeanne-Gabrielle Pascal and grandson of Nicolas Herold, an organist]. At the age of six he attended the Hix Institute and excelled in his studies. While there he also took musical theory with Ftis (who later writes the periodical La Revue Musicale). At the age of seven he played piano and composed some piano pieces. Herold's father did not intend for him to follow a musical career but, but after his father's death in 1802, he could finally pursue this avenue. He enrolled in the Conservatoire in 1806 and was schooled by Louis Adam (father of composer Adolphe Adam) in piano. He also is instructed by: Catel (harmony), Kreutzer (violin), and Mhul (composition). Herold during these times at the Conservatoire becomes a virtuoso on piano and violin. In 1810 he won first prize in a piano competition with one of his own compositions which had never been done before. One of the judges remarked: "This piece is full of flaws, but I see great things ahead for him." He progressed so far in his studies that in 1812 he won first prize in the Prix de Rome. In the spring of 1813 he composed his first symphony which all Prix de Rome winners were required to do to show their progression in studies. In 1815 he moved from Rome to Naples for health reasons. While there he composed several pieces including his 2nd symphony and three string quartets. His first opera, La Gioventu di Enrico quinto, was presented here (under the pseudonym Landriani), and it was received favorably by the people (unlike many other French composers), but not by the composers of the area. He was also paid 5,000 lira to teach King Murat's daughters. After the king was executed, he was forced to leave Italy and went to Austria. In stayed in Vienna for two months under the employ of Metternich before leaving. He returned to Paris via Munich and Switzerland. In 1816, Herold collaborated with Boieldieu in the opera Charles de France; this work put his name before the public. In the same year he composed the successful opera Les Rosires which he dedicated to his friend and former teacher Mhul. In 1817 his opera La Clochette premiered and was a vast improvement over Les Rosires. After struggling to find a libretto, he composed music for Premier Venu. However, this did not have the qualities to be an opera and it met with little success. Les Troqueurs (1819) also failed. Herold's desire to compose forced him to choose any libretto that came his way since many librettists did not trust them with the their works. Therefore, his next few operas (L'Amour platonique and L'Auteur mort et vivant) were failures. This discouraged Herold, so he did not produce any operas for three years. In 1821 he became an assistant at the Thtre Italien and traveled to Italy to recruit singers for them. This renewed his inspiration and his health. In 1823 he returned to the stage with the success Le Muletier. His next opera, Lasthnie, was a moderate success. Herold collaborated with Auber on Vendme en Espagne (1823) after French victories in Spain. In 1824 the Opra Comique commissioned him to write Le Roi Ren. In the same year he became accompanist at the Thtre Italien, and two years later became chorus-master. In 1825 he wrote Le Lapin blanc which failed; Herold himself was not inspired by its libretto to compose good music. His next opera Marie (1826) was a great success, but his is duties at Thtre Italien hindered his freedom to exploit this and further his talent, and for the next three years was reduced to writing ballet music. In 1827, he became the chief replacement at the Paris Opera. On November 3rd, 1828 he was awarded the Legion of Honor. His next opera LIlluison (1829) was successful while Emmeline (1830) was not. On May 3rd, 1831, one of his most famous operas, Zampa, premiered. This opera enjoyed much success in France and Germany where it is still occasionally staged today. He followed up his success with Zampa with La Marquise de Brinvilliers. This opera was a collaborative effort of many composers including Boieldieu and Auber. He wrote La Mdecine sans mdecin in 1832 and Le Pr aux Clercs later in the same year. Le Pr aux Clercs is another of Herolds most famous works. Le Pr aux Clercs enjoyed its thousandth performance in Paris in 1871. A month after its premier, Herold died of tuberculosis from which he had long suffered. Herolds opera Ludovic which had not been completed was finished by Halvy. Herold was buried at the Cimetire du Pre Lachaise in Paris. The house at 10 Rue Herold is Herolds birthplace. The street was named in his honor in 1881. Operas - 1815, La giovent di Enrico quinto.
- 1816, Charles de France ou Amour et gloire (with Boieldieu).
- 1816-1817, Corinne au Capitole.
- 1817, Les Rosires.
- 1817, La Clochette ou Le Diable page.
- 1818, Le Premier venu ou Six lieues de chemin.
- 1819, Les Troqueurs.
- 1819, L'Amour platonique.
- 1820, L'Auteur mort et vivant.
- 1823, Le Muletier.
- 1823, Vendme en Espagne (with Auber).
- 1825, Le Lapin blanc.
- 1826, Almdon ou le monde renvers renamed Marie.
- 1829, L'Illusion.
- 1829, Emmeline.
- 1830, L'Auberge d'Auray.
- 1831, Zampa ou La Fiance de marbre.
- 1831, La Marquise de Brinvilliers(with Auber, Batton, Berton, Blangini, Boieldieu, Carafa, Cherubini and Paer).
- 1832, La Mdecine sans mdecin.
- 1832, Le Pr aux Clercs.
- 1833, Ludovic (completed by Halvy).
- Unknown, "Les Florentines".
Ballets - 1827, Astolphe et Joconde ou Les Coureurs d'aventures.
- 1827, La Somnambule ou L'Arrive d'un nouveau seigneur.
- 1828, La Fille mal garde.
- 1828, Lydie.
- 1829, La Belle au bois dormant.
- 1830, La Noce de village.
Other Important Works - 1812, La Duchesse de la Vallire ou Mlle de Lavallire (won Prix de Rome with).
- 1813, Symphony No. 1 in C Major.
- 1814, Three String Quartets.
- 1815, Symphony No. 2 in D Major.
References - JOUVIN, BENOT JEAN-BAPTISTE, Hrold, sa vie et ses oeuvres, Heugel, Paris 1868.
- [http://71.1911encyclopedia.org/H/HE/HEROLD_LOUIS_JOSEPH_FERDINAND.htm 1911 Encyclopedia Article
vFranz Joseph Herold Herold, Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold, Louis Joseph Ferdinand
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