Ballet Music: No. 3 Allegretto

Charles-François Gounod was born in 1818 in Paris, France and died in Saint Cloud, France in 1893.

Charles Gounod decided to be a composer at age thirteen. He attended the Paris Conservatoire for three years, and in 1839 was the winner of the Prix de Rome, a prestigious three-year travelling scholarship awarded by the Paris Conservatoire.

Gounod spent a couple of years studying in Rome, before travelling to Vienna. There he heard a performance of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute for the first time, before leaving for Berlin, where he met the great Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn.

Returning to Paris and getting a job may have left Gounod feeling a little flat after the excitement of his travels. Eventually his career took off and one of his most famous works, the opera Faust, was premiered in 1859.

Ten years later, Gounod was asked to write music for ballet scenes that were included in the 1869 Paris Opéra production of Faust. The ballet music was later published as a suite of seven movements for concert performance.

Worksheet for Primary classrooms

Step 1. Watch the video to learn about Pizzicato

Step 2. Listen to the TSO recording of Ballet Music No. 3

Step 3. Answer 10 questions

Step 4. Download a Word Search