Adolphe Adam was a popular writer of ballet and opera music in early 19th-century France. He wrote with great speed. He completed "Giselle" in about two months. The music was written in the smooth, song-like style of the day called "cantilena". This style is well known to music lovers from Bellini's opera "Norma" and Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor". 