Ferdinand Herold

Full biography Ferdinand Herold

Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold , better known as Ferdinand Herold, was a French composer who lived from 28 January 1791 to 19 January 1833. He was of Alsatian descent and is best known for his early Romantic operas. Herold composed several ballets, operas, and pieces for piano and orchestra, and stands midway between D.-F.-E. Auber and Jacques Offenbach in the development of the opera-comique.

He was the only child of Johann Baptist Herold, a musician in the band of a Swiss regiment stationed in Paris, and his Parisian wife, Adélaïde Greu. Ferdinand Herold studied with Luigi Cherubini and began his career as a composer of ballets, writing several for the Paris Opera. His first opera, 'La fille mal gardée', premiered in 1828 and was immediately successful. In 1824, the Opera Comique commissioned him to write 'Le Roi Rene'.

Herold may have lived a relatively short life , but his contributions to music left a lasting impact on the world of music in his time and beyond. His music was noted for its charm, liveliness, and melody, and he remains a notable figure in the early Romantic period of music.