Jacques Fromental Halévy

French composer Fromental Halévy (1799-1862) along with Giacomo Meyerbeer, was responsible for establishing the genre of French grand opera, a form notable for the seriousness of its topics, its lavish sense of spectacle, and its demands for extravagant performing forces. He is primarily remembered for his grand opera La Juive, which remains in the repertoire, but during his lifetime he was also renowned for his comic operas. His importance as a teacher and model may have surpassed his own historical significance; his students included Gounod, Bizet, and Saint-Saëns, and Wagner considered him a master of creating dramatic music evocative of particular epochs.