La juive

Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy

1835

The plot of La Juive (The Jewish Woman), an opera in five acts, centered around a romance between a Jewish woman and a Christian man. It was one of the most popular operas of the nineteenth century.

Credits

  1. Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, Libretto cover for La juive, 1835. Libretto by Eugène Scribe. First performed: 1835, Opéra de Paris. La Juive (opera) Paris: Maurice Schlesinger, n.d.(1835). Paris: Brandus, Dufour & Cie., n.d. [1857]. Plate B. & Cie. 9198. Reprinted Paris: Henry Lemoine, n.d. (after 1878). Plate 4304.HL
  2. Alexandre-Marie Colin, Cornélie Falcon as Rachel in the opera La Juive by Halévy, 1835. Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 6.

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Creator Bio

Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy

1799–1862

Born in Paris, composer Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy (known more widely as Fromental Halévy) greatly influenced French grand opera. Halévy entered conservatory at age nine, winning awards and attention in his youth before gaining tremendous popularity in the early 1830s. His 1835 masterpiece La juive, with a libretto by Eugène Scribe, secured his status in French opera. In 1851, Halévy became a full professor of composition at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he taught several important composers of the next generation of French music, including Georges Bizet and Camille Saint-Saëns.

Related Guide

Music and Opera in Jewish Culture, 1750–1880

One of the most striking changes in European Jewish culture toward the later eighteenth century was marked by the entry of Jews into art music, opera houses, and the stage.

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