Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (August 5, 1811 - February 12, 1896) was a French opera composer. He is best-known for his operas Mignon (1866) and his Shakespearean Hamlet (1868). August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. ... 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1896 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The foyer of Charles Garniers Opéra, Paris, opened 1875 Opera is an art form consisting of a dramatic stage performance set to music. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Mignon is an opera in three acts by Ambroise Thomas to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethes story Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. ... William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ...

Thomas was born in Metz. His father was a musician and young Ambroise learned to play the piano and violin as a child. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, and won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1832 for his cantata, Hermann et Ketty. Five years later (in 1837) his first opera, "La Double échelle," was produced at the Opéra Comique. Location within France Rhine watershed Metz is a city in the North-East of France, capital of the Lorraine région and of the département of Moselle (57). ... Conservatoire de Paris, or Paris Conservatoire, has been central to the evolution of music in France and Western Europe. ... The Prix de Rome is a scholarship for students of the arts. ... 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the Paris opera house. ...

For the next five-and-twenty years Thomas's productivity was incessant, and most of his operatic works belonging to this period enjoyed an ephemeral popularity. A few of these are still occasionally heard on the continent, such as Le Caid (1849), Le Songe d'une nuit d'été (1850), Psyche (1857). The overture to Raymond (1851) has remained popular. From 1856 on, Thomas was a professor at the Conservatoire where he taught, among others, Massenet. Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (May 12, 1842 - August 13, 1912) was a French composer. ...

So far the composer's operatic career had not been marked by any overwhelming success. He occupied a place among the recognized purveyors of operas in the French capital, but could scarcely claim to having achieved European renown. The production of "Mignon" at the Opéra Comique in 1866, however, at once raised Ambroise Thomas to the position of one of the foremost French composers. Goethe's touching tale had very happily inspired the musician; Mme Galli Marie, the original interpreter of the title-role, had modelled her conception of the part upon the well-known picture by Ary Scheffer, and Mignon at once took the fancy of the public, its success being repeated all over the continent. It has since remained one of the most popular operas belonging to the second half of the 19th century. 1866 is a common year starting on Monday. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749–March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ... Ary Scheffer (February 10, 1795 _ June 15, 1858), French painter of Dutch extraction, was born at Dordrecht. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Thomas now attempted to turn Shakespeare's Hamlet to operatic account. His opera of that name was produced with success at the Paris Opera in 1868, where it enjoyed a long vogue. If the music is scarcely adequate to the subject, it nevertheless contains some of the composer's best work. The scene of the esplanade is genuinely dramatic, the part of Ophelia is poetically conceived, and the ballet music is very brilliant. William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy by William Shakespeare and one of his most well-known and oft-quoted plays. ... Exterior of the Palais Garnier. ...

Ambroise Thomas's last opera, "Françoise de Rimini," was given at the Opéra in 1882, but has not maintained itself in the repertoire. Seven years later "La Temple," a ballet founded on Shakespeare's play, was produced at the same theatre. Ambroise Thomas succeeded Auber as director of the Paris Conservatoire in 1871. His music is often distinguished by refined touches which reveal a sensitive mind, and there is a distinct element of poetry in his "Mignon" and "Hamlet," two operas that should suffice to keep the composer's memory green for some time to come. Daniel François Esprit Auber (January 29, 1782 - May 13, 1871), French composer, the son of a Paris print-seller, was born in Caen in Normandy. ...

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...