Giacomo Meyerbeer.

Giacomo Meyerbeer (September 5, 1791 – May 2, 1864) was a noted German-born opera composer, and the first great exponent of Grand Opera. Events 1590 - Alexander Farnese 's army forces Henry IV of France to raise the siege of Paris. Year 1791 ( MDCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. Year 1864 ( MDCCCLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Grand Opera is a genre of 19th-century Opera generally in four or five acts characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras and (in their original productions lavish and

Biography

Meyerbeer was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf, near Berlin, Germany with the name Jacob Liebmann Beer. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. His father was the enormously wealthy financier Jacob Judah Herz Beer (1769-1825) and his much-beloved mother, Amalia Liebmann Meyer Wulff (1767-1854) also came from the wealthy elite. Their other children included the astronomer Wilhelm Beer and the poet Michael Beer. Historically Astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky while Astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena Wilhelm Wolff Beer ( 4 January 1797 &ndash 27 March 1850) was a Banker and Astronomer from Berlin,

Meyerbeer made his debut as a nine-year old playing a Mozart concerto in Berlin. Throughout his youth, although he was determined to become a musician, he found it difficult to decide between playing and composition. Certainly other professionals in the decade 1810-1820, including Moscheles, considered him amongst the greatest virtuosi of his period. (Isaac Ignaz Moscheles ( May 23, 1794 &ndash March 10, 1870) was a Bohemian Composer and Piano Virtuoso In his youth Beer studied with Antonio Salieri and the German master and friend of Goethe, Carl Friedrich Zelter. Antonio Salieri ( 18 August 1750 &ndash 7 May 1825) was an Italian Composer and conductor. ˈjoːhan ˈvɔlfgaŋ fɔn ˈgøːtə (in English generally ˈgɝːtə 28 August 1749 22 March 1832 was a German writer Carl Friedrich Zelter ( 11 December 1758 &ndash 15 May 1832)was a German composer conductor and teacher of music Realizing, however, that a full understanding of Italian opera was essential for his musical development, he went to study in Italy for some years, during which time he adopted the first name Giacomo. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The 'Meyer' in his surname he adopted after the death of his great-grandfather. It was during this time that he became acquainted with, and impressed by, the works of his contemporary Gioacchino Rossini.

Meyerbeer's name first became known internationally with his opera Il crociato in Egitto (premiered in Venice in 1824, and produced in London and Paris in 1825; incidentally the last opera ever to feature a castrato), but he became virtually a superstar with Robert le Diable (Robert the Devil, with libretto by Eugène Scribe and Casimir Delavigne), produced in Paris in 1831 and regarded by some as the first grand opera, although this honor rightly belongs to Auber's La muette de Portici. Il crociato in Egitto ( The Crusade in Egypt) is an Opera in two acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a Libretto by Gaetano Rossi. Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a Soprano, Mezzo-soprano, or Contralto voice produced either by Castration Robert le diable ( Robert the Devil) is an Opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer, often regarded as the first Grand opera. Augustin Eugène Scribe ( December 24, 1791 – February 20, 1861) was a French dramatist and Librettist. Jean-François Casimir Delavigne ( April 4, 1793 - December 11, 1843) was a French Poet and Dramatist. Grand Opera is a genre of 19th-century Opera generally in four or five acts characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras and (in their original productions lavish and La muette de Portici ( The mute girl of Portici) originally entitled Masaniello ou La muette de Portici, is an Opera in five acts The fusion of dramatic music, melodramatic plot and sumptuous staging proved a sure-fire formula which Meyerbeer repeated in Les Huguenots (1836), Le prophète (1849), and L'Africaine, (produced posthumously, 1865). Les Huguenots is a French Opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer, one of the most popular and spectacular examples of the style of Grand opera. Le prophète ( The Prophet) is an Opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer. L'africaine ( The African Woman) is a Grand opera, the last work of the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer. All of these operas held the international stage throughout the 19th century, as did the more pastoral Dinorah (1859). Dinorah ou Le pardon de Ploërmel is an opéra comique in three acts music by Giacomo Meyerbeer, Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel However, because they were expensive to stage, requiring large casts of leading singers, and subject to consistent attack from the prevalent Wagnerian schools, they gradually fell into desuetude.

Meyerbeer left Paris for Berlin in 1842 to take the post of Court musical director, but returned to Paris in 1849. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany.

Meyerbeer's grave in Berlin

Meyerbeer's immense wealth (increased by the success of his operas) and his continuing adherence to his Jewish religion set him apart somewhat from many of his musical contemporaries. Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut They also gave rise to malicious rumours that his success was due to his bribing musical critics. Richard Wagner (see below) accused him of being only interested in money, not music. Meyerbeer was, however, a deeply serious musician and a sensitive personality. He philosophically resigned himself to being a victim of his own success.

Meyerbeer was interred in the Berlin Jewish cemetery in Schönhauser Allee, amongst other members of the Beer family.

Meyerbeer's extensive diaries and correspondence miraculously survived the turmoil of 20th century Europe and are now being published (6 volumes so far out of 7 - the diaries alone have been published in an English translation in 4 volumes). They are an invaluable source for the history of music and the theatre in the composer's time.

Meyerbeer and Richard Wagner

The vitriolic campaign of Richard Wagner against Meyerbeer was to a great extent responsible for the decline of Meyerbeer's popularity after his death in 1864. This campaign was as much a matter of personal spite as of racism - Wagner had learnt a great deal from Meyerbeer and indeed Wagner's early opera Rienzi (1842) has, facetiously, been called 'Meyerbeer's most successful work'. List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that Rienzi der Letzte der Tribunen (WWV 49 ( Rienzi the Last of the Tribunes) is an early Opera by Richard Wagner in five acts with the Libretto Meyerbeer supported the young Wagner, both financially and in obtaining a production of Rienzi at Dresden. Dresden (etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Drježdźany is the Capital city of the German

However, Wagner resented Meyerbeer's continuing success at a time when his own vision of German opera had little chance of prospering. After the May Uprising in Dresden of 1849, Wagner was for some years a political refugee facing a prison sentence or worse in Saxony. The May Uprising took place in Dresden, Germany in 1849; it was one of the last of the series of events known as the Revolutions of 1848. The Free State of Saxony (Freistaat Sachsen ˈzaksən Swobodny Stat Sakska is the easternmost federal state of Germany. During this period when he was gestating his Ring cycle he had few sources of income apart from journalism and benefactors, and little opportunity of getting his own works performed. Der Ring des Nibelungen ( The Ring of the Nibelung) is a cycle of four epic Music dramas by the German composer The success of Le Prophète sent Wagner over the edge, and he was also deeply envious of Meyerbeer's wealth. After Meyerbeer's death Wagner reissued his 1850 essay Das Judenthum in der Musik (Jewry in Music), in 1868, in an extended form, with a far more explicit attack on Meyerbeer. "Das Judenthum in der Musik" ( German, "Jewishness in Music" but normally translated Judaism in Music) (in German spelled after its first publication This version was under Wagner's own name - for the first version he had sheltered behind a pseudonym - and as Wagner had by now a far greater reputation, his views obtained far wider publicity.

These attacks on Meyerbeer (which also included a swipe at Felix Mendelssohn) are regarded by Paul Lawrence Rose as a significant milestone in the growth of German anti-Semitism. Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and generally known as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3 1809 &ndash November 4 1847 was a German Composer Paul Lawrence Rose is the Professor of European History and Mitrani Professor of Jewish Studies at Pennsylvania State University. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility ^[1]

Modern productions of Meyerbeer

Meyerbeer's compositions were banned by the Nazi regime because the composer was Jewish, and this was a major factor in their disappearance from the repertory. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German However, the operas are now beginning to be regularly revived and recorded, although (despite the efforts of such champions as Dame Joan Sutherland, who took part in performances of, and recorded, Les Huguenots) they have yet to achieve anything like the huge popular following they attracted during their creator's lifetime. WikipediaWikiProject Opera#Infoboxes --> Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE (born 7 November 1926

Amongst reasons often adduced for the dearth of modern productions are the scale of Meyerbeer's more ambitious works and the cost of mounting them, as well as the alleged lack of virtuoso singers capable of doing justice to Meyerbeer's demanding music. However, recent successful productions of some of the major operas at relatively small centres such as Strasbourg (L'Africaine, 2004) and Metz (Les Huguenots, 2004) show that this conventional wisdom is not unchallengeable. Strasbourg (Strasbourg stʁazbuʁ Alsatian: Strossburi,; Straßburg) is the capital and principal City of the Alsace région Metz (mɛs in French) is a city in the northeast of France, capital of the Lorraine région and Préfecture Conventional wisdom (CW is a term used to describe ideas or explanations that are generally accepted as true by the public or by experts in a field

List of operas

Media

Notes

1. ^ See e. g. Paul Lawrence Rose, Wagner, Race and Revolution, London, 1996 ISBN 057117888x

External links

• Meyerbeer Fan Club site at meyerbeer.com
• Article by David Conway on 'Meyerbeer the Jew' on his site dedicated to Jewish musicians
• Free Mp3 file of Wilhelm Kuhe's piano "Fantaisie on Meyerbeer's "Dinorah" played by John Kersey
• Free Mp3 file of Eugene Ketterer's piano "Fantaisie on Meyerbeer's "L'Africaine" played by John Kersey
• Meyerbeer cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library

Bibliography

• Becker, Heinz and Gudrun (1989). The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California Santa Barbara Libraries with streaming and downloadable The University of California Santa Barbara ( UCSB) is a selective research-oriented public university located on the Pacific Ocean in Santa Barbara County California Giacomo Meyerbeer, a Life in Letters.  
• Zimmermann, Reiner (1998). Giacomo Meyerbeer, eine Biographie nach Dokumenten.  
• Meyerbeer, Giacomo (1999-2004). The Diaries of Giacomo Meyerbeer.  
• Meyerbeer, Giacomo (1960 -). Briefwechsel und Tagebücher.  
• Kaufman, Tom (Autumn 2003). "Wagner vs. Meyerbeer". Opera Quarterly 19.  

Discography

• [1] A Meyerbeer discography (updated whenever an additional opera by Meyerbeer is issued on CD)