January 30, 1809:
Fromental Halévy (9) enters the Paris Conservatoire.
March 31, 1814:
Fromental Halévy (14) interrupts his piano practice to join his brother watching Cossacks march past his home.
March 24, 1820:
Marche funebre et De profundis for chorus and orchestra by Fromental Halévy (20) is performed for the first time, in the rue Sainte-Avoye synagogue, Paris. The work is part of nationwide mourning over the murder of the Duc de Berry.
March 22, 1825:
Abraham and Felix Mendelssohn (16) arrive in Paris to accompany Abraham’s sister Henriette back to Berlin. While in Paris, Felix will come in contact with and perform for many of the composers and virtuosos of the city including Hummel (46), Auber (43), Kalkbrenner (39), Rossini (33), Halévy (25), Liszt (13), and Kreutzer.
January 30, 1827:
L’artisan, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (27) to words of Saint Georges, is performed for the first time, by the Opéra-Comique, Paris. It is not successful.
November 3, 1827:
Le roi et le batelier, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (28) and Victor Rifaut to words of Saint-Georges, is performed for the first time, by the Opéra-Comique, Paris. It receives only 13 performances.
December 9, 1828:
Clari, an opera semiseria by Fromental Halévy (29) to words of Giannone, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre-Italien, Paris. It is his least successful opera so far.
November 7, 1829:
Le dilettante d’Avignon, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (30) to words of Hoffman and the composer’s brother Leon, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Ventadour, Paris. It is Halévy’s first true success.
May 3, 1830:
Manon Lescaut, a ballet by Fromental Halévy (30) to a scenario by Scribe and Aumer after Prévost, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. It enjoys a good success.
May 27, 1830:
Attendre et courir, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy to words of Fulgence and Henri, is performed for the first time, in Théâtre Ventadour, Paris, on the composer’s 31st birthday.
December 11, 1830:
Fromental Halévy’s (31) opéra comique La langue musicale to words of Saint-Yves is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Ventadour, Paris. It will run for 30 performances into next year.
March 9, 1831:
Nicolò Paganini (48) performs in Paris for the first time, at the Opéra to wild enthusiasm. Present are Luigi Cherubini (70), Friedrich Kalkbrenner (45), Giacomo Meyerbeer (39), Fromental Halévy (31), Adolphe Adam (27), Heinrich Heine, George Sand, and Victor Hugo, in short, most of artistic Paris.
June 20, 1832:
La tentation, an opéra-ballet by Fromental Halévy (33) and Casimir Gide to words of Cavé and Coralli, is performed for the first time, in the Paris Opéra.
March 4, 1833:
Les souvenirs de Lafleur, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (33) to words of Carmouche and de Courcy, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre de la Bourse, Paris.
February 23, 1835:
La juive, an opéra by Fromental Halévy (35) to words of Scribe, is performed for the first time, in the Paris Opéra. It will become Halévy’s most important success.
December 16, 1835:
Fromental Halévy’s (36) opéra comique L’éclair to words of Saint-Georges and de Planard is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre de la Bourse, Paris. The critics are pleased. Among the orchestra is a young cellist named Jacob (Jacques) Offenbach (16).
July 2, 1836:
Fromental Halévy (37) is elected to the French Institute.
November 1, 1837:
Johann Strauss Sr. leads his orchestra in a performance of his Viennese waltzes in Paris before an appreciative audience which includes Luigi Cherubini (77), Daniel Auber (55), Giacomo Meyerbeer (46), Fromental Halévy (38), Adolphe Adam (34) and Hector Berlioz (33).
March 5, 1838:
Guido et Ginevra, ou La peste de Florence, an opéra by Fromental Halévy (38) to words of Scribe, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
March 8, 1838:
Le Figaro publishes criticisms of Fromental Halévy (38). They see conflict in his simultaneous roles as composer and casting director of the Opéra. He is charged with using the Opéra to promote his own music at the expense of others. They call for his resignation.
April 15, 1839:
Les treize, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (39) to words of Scribe and Duport, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre de la Bourse, Paris. The critics are mixed but it does receive 39 performances.
September 2, 1839:
Fromental Halévy’s (40) opéra comique Le shérif, to words of Scribe after Balzac is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre de la Bourse, Paris. It is a failure.
January 6, 1840:
Le drapier, an opéra by Fromental Halévy (40) to words of Scribe, is performed for the first time, in the Paris Opéra.
January 21, 1841:
La guitarrero, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (41) to words of Scribe, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Favart, Paris.
December 2, 1841:
Frédéric Chopin (31) performs at a musical soiree given by the king’s son, the Duc d’Orleans at his residence, the Pavillon de Marsan. 500 people attend, including the King Louis Philippe and Queen Marie Amalie, three other of their children, Queen Maria Cristina of Spain, the ambassadors of Prussia, Sweden, and Saxony, former French Prime Minister Adolphe Thiers, and Eugène Delacroix. The program is conducted by Fromental Halévy (42), the duke’s music director. The featured work is Chopin’s Ballade op.47.
December 22, 1841:
Fromental Halévy’s (42) opéra La reine de Chypre to words of Saint-Georges is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. Despite the fact that George Sand does not approve, it is a success and will see 130 performances in the next 15 years.
March 19, 1842:
2,000 people, including many notables, attend the funeral mass for Luigi Cherubini at the Church of St. Roch, Paris at which his second Requiem is performed. Because he was a member of the Legion of Honor, his earthly remains are laid to rest in the Cemetery of Père Lachaise with full military honors. Among the pallbearers are Daniel Auber (60) and Fromental Halévy (41).
April 27, 1842:
Jacques-François-Fromental-Elie Halévy (42) marries Hannah Léonie Rodrigues-Henriques, daughter of wealthy bankers, in Paris.
March 15, 1843:
Charles VI, an opéra by Fromental Halévy (43) to words of Delavigne and Delavigne, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. Critics are mostly positive. The public loves it.
March 23, 1844:
Le lazzarone, ou Le bien vient en dormant, a grand opéra by Fromental Halévy (44) to words of Saint-Georges, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
October 30, 1845:
In a concert organized by the father of the composer, the églogue biblique Ruth for solo voices, chorus and orchestra by César Franck (22) to words of the Bible and Guillemin is performed for the first time, in the Salle Erard, Paris. Present at the invitation of the elder Franck are Gaspare Spontini (70), Giacomo Meyerbeer (54), Fromental Halévy (46), Adolphe Adam (42), Charles-Valentin Alkan (31), Franz Liszt (34) and Ignaz Moscheles. The composers are mildly lauditory except for Liszt who is effusively so.
February 3, 1846:
Les mousquetaires de la reine, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (46) to words of Saint-Georges, is performed for the first time, by the Opéra-Comique, Paris. It is very successful.
February 22, 1846:
A command performance of Fromental Halévy’s Les mousquetaires de la reine takes place before the royal family in the Tuileries Palace.
May 21, 1846:
Les Plages du Nil, a cantata by Fromental Halévy (46) to words of his brother Léon, is performed for the first time, at the Paris home of the Minister of Education. It was written for the visit of Ibrahim Pasha, the heir apparent to the throne of Egypt.
November 15, 1847:
Les premiers pas, an opéra comique by Daniel Auber (65), Adolphe Adam (44), Michele Carafa de Colobrano, and Fromental Halévy (48) to words of Royer and Vaëz, is performed for the first time, at the opening of the Opéra-National, Paris.
November 11, 1848:
Le val d’Andorre, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (49) to words of Saint-Georges, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Favart, Paris. It is an unqualified success with press and public.
October 1, 1849:
La fée aux roses, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (50) to words of Scribe and Saint-Georges, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Favart, Paris. It enjoys a good, if not unqualified, success.
May 7, 1850:
Fromental Halévy (50) and his family arrive in London to produce La tempesta.
May 12, 1850:
Fromental Halévy (50), his wife and daughters, call on the former King Louis-Philippe at Claremont, where he is a guest of Queen Victoria. He brings a newly published book from his friend Jules Janin to the King, who receives them lying down, in poor health.
June 8, 1850:
La tempestà, an opéra italien by Fromental Halévy (51) to words of Giannone and Scribe after Shakespeare, is performed for the first time, at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London. The public is ecstatic, giving solo bows for every number. The press, unanimous in their praise of the production, is cautious about the work itself.
December 28, 1850:
La dame de pique, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (51) to words of Scribe, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Favart, Paris. It is a success.
October 9, 1851:
Jules Massenet (9) takes his entrance examination at the Paris Conservatoire before a panel of judges including Daniel Auber (69), Fromental Halévy (52), and Ambroise Thomas (40). He is not admitted. See 10 January 1853.
April 23, 1852:
Le juif errant, an opéra by Fromental Halévy (52) to words of Scribe and Saint-Georges after Sue, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
September 1, 1853:
Le nabab, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (54) to words of Scribe and Saint-Georges, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Favart, Paris. It enjoys a moderate success. Le nabab marks the last collaboration of Halévy with Eugène Scribe.
May 14, 1855:
Jaguarita l’indienne, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (55) to words of Saint-Georges and de Leuven, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre-Lyrique, Paris.
June 13, 1855:
L’inconsolable, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (56) under the pseudonym Alberti, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre-Lyrique, Paris.
July 5, 1855:
Jacques Offenbach (36) rents the Théâtre Marigny on the Champs Elysées to put on a program of comedy sketches by a group under the title Bouffes-Parisiens. Performed for the first time are Offenbach’s: Entrez, messieurs, mesdames to words of Mery and Halévy (under the pseudonym Servières), Les deux aveugles, a bouffonerie musicale to words of Moinaux, Une nuit blanche, an opéra-comique to words of Plouvier, and the ballet Arlequin barbier to a scenario by Placet after Rossini. They are very successful through the Paris Exhibition.
October 3, 1855:
Madame Papillon, a bouffonerie musicale by Jacques Offenbach (36) to words of Halévy (under the pseudonym Servières), is performed for the first time, by the Bouffes Parisiens at Salle Marigny, Paris.
April 26, 1856:
Valentine d’Aubigny, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (56) to words of Barbier and Carré, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Favart, Paris.
March 17, 1858:
La magicienne, an opéra by Fromental Halévy (58) to words of Saint-Georges, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. The work is well received by the public, though the critical reaction is mixed.
May 2, 1858:
Fromental Halévy’s (58) setting of Adonay zecharanu for soloists, chorus, and orchestra is performed for the first time, at a wedding in Paris. The groom is the nephew of Halévy’s wife.
July 17, 1858:
The French Minister of the Interior appoints a commission to investigate a universal pitch, what this pitch should be, and how to insure it becomes universal. Much of the investigative work will be done by Hector Berlioz (54). Other members include Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (76), Gioacchino Rossini (66), Giacomo Meyerbeer (66), Fromental Halévy (59), and Ambroise Thomas (46).
June 7, 1859:
Italie, a cantata by Fromental Halévy (60) to words of Saint-Georges, is performed for the first time, at the Opéra-Comique, Paris. It is part of three days of festivities celebrating the French victory in Italy.
May 24, 1861:
After a dinner party at the home of Fromental Halévy (61), Georges Bizet (22) sight-reads a difficult work by Franz Liszt (49). The composer, who is present, calls Bizet one of the three finest pianists in Europe, along with Hans von Bülow and himself.
December 23, 1861:
Fromental Halévy (62) and his family depart Paris for Nice where he intends to recover his failing health and compose Noé.
March 17, 1862:
About 15:00. Jacques-François-Fromental-Elie Halévy dies at Villa Mascet in the rue de France, Nice, Alpes-Maritimes in the French Empire, aged 62 years, nine months, and 18 days.
March 24, 1862:
A funeral procession in memory of Fromental Halévy travels from the Institute Palace to the Place de la Concorde to the cemetery of Montmartre. An estimated 15,000 people attend some part of the proceedings. Music includes the Marche funèbre from La Juive. There are eight funeral orations.
May 28, 1862:
To commemorate the life of Fromental Halévy (†0), a gala performance of La Juive is given at the Paris Opéra. At the end of the second act, the curtain is raised revealing a bust of the composer donated by his wife. The five leads take laurels off their heads and place them on the bust, as others rain down on the stage. There follows a ten-minute standing ovation.
June 14, 1862:
Emperor Napoléon III signs a decree ordering a pension for the widow of Fromental Halévy (†0).
March 17, 1864:
On the second anniversary of the subject’s death, a memorial with full-size sculpture to the memory of Fromental Halévy is unveiled in the Jewish section of Montmartre cemetery.
February 17, 1880:
Richard Wagner (66) sees a production of Fromental Halévy’s (†17) La Juive at Teatro San Carlo, Naples. Cosima reports that he finds the work delightful, and “not at all Jewish.” (C.Wagner, 377).