Adolphe Adam became a celebrity after the enormous success of his comic opera Le Postillon de Lonjumeau in 1836. But it was his ballet Giselle that has become a standard and beloved repertoire of the ballet theatres all over the world. In 1839 Adam was commissioned by the Russian Tzar to write music for Filippo Taglioni. Later, Adam was commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia to write music for Les Hamadryades, a ballet to be performed in Berlin. In 1849 Adam accepted professorship at the Conservatoire. His literary work The Autobiographical Sketches is dedicated to ‘the only passion’ of Adam – music.