Ambroise Thomas

Metz-born and Conservatoire-trained — he entered in 1828 and carried off the Prix de Rome in 1832 — Ambroise Thomas made his early reputation in opéra comique with La double échelle, Le caïd and Le songe d'une nuit d'été. Two later works are Mignon of 1866 and Hamlet of 1868. Elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts, he took over the direction of the Paris Conservatoire in 1871 and held it until he died in 1896. Born in 1811 into a musical household, he spent the Roman years of the prize at the Villa Medici. La double echelle followed in 1837. He had taught at the Conservatoire since 1856.