Habeneck, François (1781-1849)

Habeneck, François

VIOLINIST, CONDUCTOR (FRANCE)

BORN 22 Jan 1781, Mézières, Ardennes - DIED 8 Feb 1849, Paris: Ancien 2e
BIRTH NAME Habeneck, François Antoine
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Père Lachaise, Rue du Repos 16 (division 11, chemin Denon, ligne 01)

François Habeneck was the son of the violinist Adam Abnek, a musician in a regimental band. He was taught by his father and from 1801 he studied at the Conservatoire in Paris. Pierre Baillot was his teacher there and he won first prize in violin in 1804. He was engaged at the orchestra of the Opéra-Comique but soon he was employed by the Opera. From 1817 to 1819 he was assistant conductor of the Opera. In 1824 he became first conductor together with Henri Valentino (1785-1865). After Valentino's resignation in 1831 he was the sole first conductor until 1844.

In 1828 he had become the first conductor of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire where he introduced the symphonies of Beethoven in France. In 1839 he received Richard Wagner in Paris, but he considered Wagner's "Columbus ouverture" too vague. Habeneck died in Paris in 1849.

Related persons
• was teacher of Clapisson, Louis
• was teacher of Gautier, Eugène
• knew Wagner, Richard

Events

9/10/1826	Premiere of Rossini's "Le Siège de Corinth" Opéra in Paris. It was an opera in three acts with a libretto by Luigi Balocchi and Alexandre Soumet. François Habeneck was the conductor. Performers were Louis Nourrit, Laure Cinti-Damoreau, Adolphe Nourrit, Henri-Étienne Dérivis and Gerdinand Prévost. [Cinti-Damoreau, Laure][Nourrit, Adolphe][Rossini, Gioacchino]
20/8/1828	Premiere of Rossini's "Le Comte Ory" at the Salle Pelletier in Paris. It was his penultimate opera.The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Delestre-Poirson. François Habeneck was the conductor. The performers included Adolphe Nourritt, Nicolas Levasseur, Henri-Bernard Dabadie, Laure Cinti-Damoreau and Eugène Massol. [Cinti-Damoreau, Laure][Levasseur, Nicolas-Prosper][Massol, Eugène][Nourrit, Adolphe][Rossini, Gioacchino][Scribe, Eugène]
3/8/1829	Premiere of Rossini's "Guillaume Tell" at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris. It was Rossini's last opera. The libretto was written by Étienne de Jouy and Hippolyte Bis based on the play by Friedrich Schiller. François Habenack was the conductor. Perfomers included Henri Bernard Dabadie, Laure Cinti-Damoreau, Adolphe Nourrit and Nicolas Levasseur. [Cinti-Damoreau, Laure][Levasseur, Nicolas-Prosper][Nourrit, Adolphe][Rossini, Gioacchino][Schiller, Friedrich von]
21/11/1831	Premiere of Meyerbeer's "Robert le Diable" at the Opéra in Paris. It included a ballet in the third act with Marie Taglioni as the ballerina. François Habeneck was the conductor and singers included Adolphe Nourrit as Robert and Laure Cinti-Damoreau as Isabelle. [Cinti-Damoreau, Laure][Levasseur, Nicolas-Prosper][Massol, Eugène][Meyerbeer, Giacomo][Nourrit, Adolphe][Taglioni, Marie]
23/2/1835	Premiere of Fromental Halévy's "Ja Juive" at the Opera in Paris. The librett owas written by Eugène Scribe. François Habeneck was the conductor. Performers were Asolphe Nourrit, Cornélie Falcon, Julie Dorus-Gras, Niclas Levasseur and Henri-Bernard Dabadie. [Falcon, Cornélie][Halévy, Fromental][Levasseur, Nicolas-Prosper][Nourrit, Adolphe][Scribe, Eugène]
29/2/1836	Premiere of Meyerbeer's opera "Les Huguenots" at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps. François Habeneck was the conductor. Julie Gras was Marguerite de Valois, Cornélie Falcon was Valentine, Maria Flécheux was Urbain, Adolphe Nourrit was Raoul de Nangis, Prosper Dérivis was Le Comte de Nevers, Alexis Dupont was Tavannes, François Wartel was Bois-Rosé and Nicolas Levasseur was Marcel. [Falcon, Cornélie][Levasseur, Nicolas-Prosper][Massol, Eugène][Meyerbeer, Giacomo][Nourrit, Adolphe][Scribe, Eugène]
10/9/1838	Premiere of Berlioz's opera "Benvenuto Cellini" at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris. François Habeneck was the conductor. Singers were Julie Dorus-Gras, Rosinze stolz, Gilbert Duprez and Jean-Étienne-Auguste Massol. [Berlioz, Hector][Massol, Eugène]
22/12/1841	Premiere of Halévy's "La reine de Chypre" at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris. The libretto was by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. Habeneck was the conductor. Rosine Stolz performed the title part of this grand opera and Gilbert Duprez was Gérard. Joseph Mazilier was the choreographer. Adéle Dumilâtre, Natalie Fitzjames and Pauline Leroux were in the ballet. Richard Wagner was in the audience and praised the opera. [Halévy, Fromental][Leroux, Pauline][Massol, Eugène][Wagner, Richard]
17/12/1845	Premiere of Michael Balfe's opera "L'étoile de Séville" at the Salle le Peletier in Paris. It was grand opera in four acts with a librettoby Hippolye Lucas based on "La Estrella de Sevilla" (1623) by Andrés de Claramonte. Rosine Stolz sang the title part. Other performers were Marie-Dolorès Nau, Italo Gardoni and Paul Barroilhet. François Habeneck was the conductor. [Balfe, Michael]