Gounod was the leading opera composer in France in the mid-nineteenth century, and his best-known operas, including Faust and Romeo and Juliette, date from that time. Despite the overwhelming success of Faust and Gounod's immense influence on all French composers of the later nineteenth century, he has been virtually ignored by scholars until now. Huebner here charts the composer's career and deals with each of the major operas, discussing not only the music but also the critical reception and source material. He considers aspects of the composer's musical style and outlines his influence on subsequent generations of composers.