ADOLPHE ADAM, known throughout the world for his Christmas Carols and for the ballets Giselle (1841) and Corsaire (1856), which marked a high point in the choreographic art of Romanticism, was in fact the author of quite a few, mostly stage works, including 40 operas and about 20 ballets.

In his music he achieved a dramaturgical unity and vivid characterizations highly appreciated by Tchaikovsky. His ballet have been somewhat ignored by posterity, but they gradually entered the repertoire, introduced by Richard Bonynge.