Charles Gounod (1818 – 1893) was a French composer noted particularly for his operas, of which the most famous is Faust.

Gounod’s father was a painter, and his mother was a capable pianist who gave Gounod his early training in music. He was educated at the Lycée Saint-Louis, where he remained until 1835. After taking his degree in philosophy, he began to study music with the Bohemian composer Anton Reicha. On Reicha’s death Gounod entered the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied under Fromental Halévy and Jean-François Lesueur. Three years later his cantata Fernand won him the Prix de Rome for music, an award that entailed a three-year stay in Rome at the Villa Medici.