What is Léo Delibes?
{{Infobox person | name = Léo Delibes | image = Delibes Leo Luckhard.png | caption = | birth_name = Clément Philibert Léo Delibes | birth_date = {{Birth date|1836|2|21|df=y}} | birth_place = [[La Flèche|Saint-Germain-du-Val]], France | death_date = {{death date and age|1891|1|16|1836|2|21|df=y}} | death_place = Paris, France | occupation = Composer }} '''Léo Delibes''' (born St. Germain-du-Val, [[France]], 21 February 1836; died St. Germain-du-Val 16 January 1891) was a [[France|French]] composer of [[Romantic music]]. He is particularly famous for his [[ballet]]s, especially ''[[Coppélia]]'', and [[operetta]]s and [[opera]]s, of which ''[[Lakmé]]'' is the most famous. == Biography == Delibes’s father worked for the post office. His mother was musical and played the [[piano]]. Her father, the composer’s grandfather, had been a [[baritone]] in the [[Opéra-Comique]] and she had a brother who was an [[pipe organ|organist]] and professor at the [[Paris Conservatoire]]. When Delibes’s father died in 1847 his family moved to [[Paris]] so that the young Léo, who was 11, could continue having a good musical [[education]]. At first he found it difficult living in a large city as he was used to the countryside. He was a student of the well-known composer and teacher [[Adolphe Adam]]. At first he did well in his music lessons and won prizes, but after a few years he no longer won any prizes. He never tried to win the [[Prix de Rome]] which is what all French students of composition normally want to do. As a young boy he sang in choirs. Later he became a church organist and an [[accompaniment (music)|accompanist]] at the [[Théâtre-Lyrique]]. Soon Delibes started to composer [[operetta]]s. He wrote 14 operettas in 14 years. He was commissioned to write some music to celebrate the [[emperor]]’s return from [[Algiers]]. The piece he wrote was called ''Alger''. It was a huge success. The emperor gave him a gold medal, personally fastening a pin with [[diamond]]s to h