Léo Delibes

Clément Philibert Léo Delibes was born in Saint-Germain-du-Val, France, in 1836. From 1847, Delibes studied composition at the Paris Conservatoire as a student of Adolphe Adam, the composer of Giselle.

He held positions as a rehearsal accompanist and chorus master at the Théâtre Lyrique, and wrote a number of comic operas for this theatre. Ten years later, he took a similar post at the Paris Opéra, where he was promoted to second chorus master in 1864.

His first important commission was the music for the ballet La Source, written in collaboration with Léon Minkus. His success in this genre soon led to other commissions. In 1867 Delibes composed a divertissement for a revival of Adam’s ballet, Le corsaire, cementing his reputation as a composer of original and striking melodies.

Delibes achieved true fame in 1870 with the success of his ballet Coppélia. His other ballet is Sylvia (1876). He wrote three serious operas for the Opéra-Comique, the most famous being Lakmé.

Delibes returned to the Paris Conservatoire as professor of advanced composition, where his most celebrated pupil was Claude Debussy. He died in 1891.