Educated at the Paris Conservatoire, Delibes also studied composition under Adolphe Adams (Giselle). He produced his first stage work in 1856, the light opera Two Pennies Worth of Coal, at the Follies Nouvelles. From 1865 to 1871, he was the organist at Pierre de Chaillot. His first ballet, La Source was a collaboration with Leon Minkus in 1866. He contributed a waltz to the 1867 revival of Adam's Le Corsaire, which was performed at the Paris Opera Ballet. His crowning achievement came with the collaboration with Nuitter and Saint-Leon on the ballet Coppelia, in which Delibes wrote the entire music score. It was an enormous success and propelled Delibes onto the international scene. In 1876, he produced the ballet Sylvia, considered by critics and musicians alike as his best work, and followed in 1883 with his superb opera, Lakme. In 1881, Delibes became professor of composition at the Paris Conservatoire. |
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