Adolphe Adam was born in Paris to Louis Adam (1758-1848), who was also a composer, as well a professor at the Paris Conservatoire. His mother was the daughter of a physician. As a child, Adolphe Adam preferred to improvise music on his own rather than study music seriously. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1821, where he studied organ and harmonium under the celebrated opera composer François-Adrien Boïeldieu. Adam also played the triangle in the orchestra of the Conservatoire; however, he did not win the Grand Prix de Rome and his father did not encourage him to pursue a music as a career.
By the age of 20, he was writing songs for Paris vaudeville houses and playing in the orchestra at the Gymnasie Dramatique, where he later became chorus master. Like many other French composers, he made a living largely by playing the organ. In 1825, he helped Boïeldieu prepare parts for La dame blanche and made a piano reduction of the score. He was able to travel through Europe with the money he made, and he met Eugène Scribe, with whom he later collaborates, in Geneva. By 1830, he had completed twenty-eight works for the theatre.
Adam is probably best remembered for the ballet Giselle (1841). He wrote several other ballets and 39 operas, including Le postillon de Lonjumeau (1836) and Si j'étais roi (1852).
After quarreling with the director of the Opéra, Adam invested his money and borrowed heavily to open a third opera house in Paris: the Théâtre National. It opened in 1847, but closed because of the Revolution of 1848, leaving Adam with massive debts. His efforts to extricate himself from these debts include a brief turn to journalism. From 1849 to his death in Paris, he taught composition at the Paris Conservatoire.
His Christmas carol "Cantique de Noël", often known by its English title "O Holy Night", has become an international favourite and may have been the first music broadcast on radio [1].
Adolphe Adam is buried there in the Cimetière de Montmartre (Montmartre Cemetery).
Giselle
Adolphe Adam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
En cada amanecer
En cada noche se que estas
Fantasy llenas tú mi soledad
Eres mi pasión eres mi razón de vivir.
Siempre estuviste en mí y no te pude alcanzar
Siempre estuviste aquí.
Eres como un sueño del que no puedo ya despertar.
Yo quiero una verdad
Yo quiero una razón
No puedo comprender porque no te puedo encontrar
Yo quiero una verdad yo quiero una razón
No puedo comprender porque no te puedo encontrar.
Fantasy te busco y no te puedo hallar
En cada amanecer
En cada noche se que estas.
Fantasy llenas tú mi soledad
Eres mi pasión eres mi razón de vivir.
Siempre estuviste en mí y no te pude alcanzar
Siempre estuviste aquí
Eres ilusión
Eres realidad
Eres como un sueño del que no puedo ya despertar.
Yo quiero una verdad
Yo quiero una razón
No puedo comprender porque no te puedo encontrar
Yo quiero una verdad yo quiero una razón
No puedo comprender porque no te puedo encontrar.
Siempre estuviste en mí y no te pude alcanzar
Siempre estuviste aquí
Eres ilusión
Eres realidad
Eres como un sueño del que no puedo ya despertar.
Yo quiero una verdad
Yo quiero una razón
No puedo comprender porque no te puedo encontrar
Yo quiero una verdad yo quiero una razón
No puedo comprender porque no te puedo encontrar. (bis)
The song "Fantasy" by Adolphe Adam, as interpreted by the given lyrics, is an impassioned expression of the singer's longing for an elusive fantasy or ideal. The song is characterized by a sense of searching and yearning, as well as a frustration with the fact that this fantasy seems to remain just out of reach. The lyrics suggest that the fantasy is a source of both joy and pain for the singer, filling a void in their life but also perpetuating a sense of longing and unfulfillment.
Line by Line Meaning
Fantasy te busco y no te puedo hallar
I am searching for a fantasy that I cannot seem to find.
En cada amanecer
Every morning I wake up and hope to find it.
En cada noche se que estas
I know that it is still with me every night.
Fantasy llenas tú mi soledad
This fantasy fills the void of my loneliness.
Eres mi pasión eres mi razón de vivir.
It is my passion and the reason why I live.
Siempre estuviste en mí y no te pude alcanzar
This fantasy was always a part of me, but I could never grasp it.
Siempre estuviste aquí.
It was always here, present within me.
Eres ilusión eres realidad
It is both a dream and a reality to me.
Eres como un sueño del que no puedo ya despertar.
It is like a dream that I cannot wake up from.
Yo quiero una verdad
I want the truth.
Yo quiero una razón
I want a reason.
No puedo comprender porque no te puedo encontrar
I cannot understand why I cannot find it.
Siempre estuviste en mí y no te pude alcanzar
This fantasy was always a part of me, but I could never grasp it.
Siempre estuviste aquí.
It was always here, present within me.
Eres ilusión
It is an illusion.
Eres realidad
It is a reality.
Eres como un sueño del que no puedo ya despertar.
It is like a dream that I cannot wake up from.
Yo quiero una verdad
I want the truth.
Yo quiero una razón
I want a reason.
No puedo comprender porque no te puedo encontrar
I cannot understand why I cannot find it.
Siempre estuviste en mí y no te pude alcanzar
This fantasy was always a part of me, but I could never grasp it.
Siempre estuviste aquí.
It was always here, present within me.
Eres ilusión
It is an illusion.
Eres realidad
It is a reality.
Eres como un sueño del que no puedo ya despertar.
It is like a dream that I cannot wake up from.
Yo quiero una verdad
I want the truth.
Yo quiero una razón
I want a reason.
No puedo comprender porque no te puedo encontrar
I cannot understand why I cannot find it.
Writer(s): Adolphe Adam (pd)
Contributed by Skyler C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@marjoleinesaman
The more I listen to it, the more I start to love it. This music is so so so beautiful. And because I have been to the Giselle ballet, the music pieces get even more meaningful 💙
@heikeohlsen5137
Ja, diese Musik verzaubert mich immer wieder. Die Fülle der Melodien:fröhlich bis tietraurig-einfach wunderschön. DANKE.
@BytomGirl
I adore Giselle, watched many ballet versions and love it's music and Karajan's interpretation is the best! My favorite ballet version in case someone wants to see is from Bolshoi, 1998 with Svetlana Lunkina and Nikolai Tsiskaridze conducted by the great Algis Zhuraitis. It is available on YT. Love the painting of Giselle and Albrecht in their Silesian village of Alexandre Benois.
@SandViolet
I love "Giselle" passionately and I could listen to its music forever. Thank you for posting.
@heikeohlsen5137
Seit vielen Jahren mein Lieblingsballet. Eine Vielzahl wunderschöner Melodien von fröhlich bis tietraurig-einfach alles dabei. Wunderbar. ♥️
@pamelayounghusband6955
Thank you for uploading this beautiful recording. Giselle is definitely my favourite ballet, it never fails to lift my spirit, especially in this time of the Covid Pandemic. I never tire of listening to it.
@ronjohnson4328
Herbert Von Karajan had such a beautiful touch
@laurabretas5905
Such beautiful music! This version is a bit different from the one I know, but it's equally great. And I loved the painting
@thebiancataitshow128
My most favourite ballet EVER!
@amall3310
periodtt