Charles Gounod (1818-1893) was a French composer whose music stands at the centre of nineteenth-century French opera and sacred song. Born in Paris, he studied at the Conservatoire and won the Prix de Rome.

His best-known opera is Faust, one of the most successful French stage works of its century. He also wrote Roméo et Juliette, sacred music, songs, orchestral pieces and the famous Ave Maria based on Bach’s First Prelude.

Gounod’s music is lyrical, elegant and grateful to the voice, with a gift for melody that can move from devotional inwardness to theatrical passion. His style helped define the sound-world inherited by later French opera composers.

Although changing taste has treated him unevenly, Gounod remains a major voice of French Romanticism. His music often seems to step into the room with polished shoes and a surprisingly tender heart.