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Ambroise Thomas (1811–1896) was a French composer best known for his operas Mignon (1866) and Hamlet (1868, after Shakespeare). The son of two music teachers, Thomas was playing the piano and violin by age ten. He completed his first opera, La double échelle, in 1837, and wrote 23 further operas over the next decades. In 1871, he was appointed director of the Conservatoire de Paris, holding this position until his death.Photograph: Wilhelm Benque; restoration: Adam Cuerden