born Dec. 16, 1775, Rouen, France
died Oct. 8, 1834, Jarsy
French composer.
Well known as a concert pianist, he taught piano at the Paris Conservatoire from 1798. His early opéras comiques won popularity in Paris, and he wrote several more operas as director of the French Opera in St. Petersburg (1804–10). Of his approximately 40 operas (including many one-act works), the most popular were Le Calife de Bagdad (1800), Le Petit Chaperon rouge (1818), and La Dame blanche (1825). He was France's leading opera composer of the early 19th century, but his achievements were increasingly overshadowed by those of Gioacchino Rossini .