Ernest Guiraud was a French composer and music teacher. He was born in New Orleans, either on June 23 or June 26, 1837, and was the son of a music teacher. At the age of 15, he wrote the opera King David, which was performed in New Orleans. He moved to Paris in 1852.
Guiraud studied at the Paris Conservatory, where his teachers included Antoine Marmontel in piano and Fromental Halévy in composition. In 1859, on completing his studies, he received the Rome Prize for his cantata Bayazet and the Flutist. In 1876, he joined the conservatory as professor of harmony and, from 1880, taught composition. His students included Paul Dukas and Claude Debussy.
His principal works were operas performed in Paris theaters. His best-known opera was Piccolino, first performed in 1876. A close friend of Georges Bizet, Guiraud adapted the spoken dialogue in Carmen into recitatives after Bizet's death and assembled a second suite from the music for L'Arlésienne. He also orchestrated Offenbach's opera The Tales of Hoffmann. His other works included the ballet Gretna Green and the cantata Bayazet.
Guiraud wrote the Practical Treatise on Instrumentation, published in 1892 and later reissued and expanded by Henri Büsser in 1933. He died in Paris on May 6, 1892, and was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery. After his death, Camille Saint-Saëns, with Paul Dukas's assistance, completed Guiraud's opera Brunehilda, which was retitled Frédégonde and premiered on December 16, 1895, without success.