He studied at the Paris Conservatory under Fétis and Berton and in 1830 was awarded (jointly with Berlioz) the Prix de Rome in composition.

On his return to Paris in 1835 he made his debut as a composer with a series of instrumental overtures, piano music, and art songs.

[4][5] Montfort's first stage work was La chatte metamorphosée en femme, a three-act ballet which premiered at the Paris Opéra on 16 October 1837 with Fanny Elssler in the title role.

Scribe had planned to finish the libretto by the time Montfort returned from his honeymoon, but did not even begin working on it until August of that year.

It was followed by another one-act opéra comique, Deucalion et Pyrrha, which premiered to critical success on 8 October 1855 with Ernest Mocker and Marie-Charlotte Lemercier in the title roles.