Charles Gounod was a French composer, organist, and pianist, born on June 17, 1818, in Paris1. He is best known for his operas, particularly “Faust” (1859) and “Roméo et Juliette” (1867), which remain in the international repertory1. Gounod’s music is characterized by its melodic richness and its blend of romantic sentiment with classical restraint and elegance.
Gounod was born into an artistic family; his father was a painter and art teacher, and his mother was a talented pianist who gave him his early musical training. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire and won France’s most prestigious musical prize, the Prix de Rome. His studies took him to Italy, Austria, and Prussia, where he met Felix Mendelssohn, whose advocacy of Bach’s music was an early influence on him.
After returning to Paris, Gounod briefly considered becoming a priest but instead turned to composing. His career was interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War, leading him to move to England with his family for refuge. He later returned to France but remained in London for some time. Despite not being at the forefront of French musical life in his later years, Gounod’s influence on later French composers was considerable.