# Unknown composer #2: Giacomo Meyerbeer



## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

*I: INTRODUCTION*








*WHO WAS MEYERBEER?*
The most celebrated opera composer of the mid-19th century. A German-born Jew whose later operas, first performed in Paris, were smash hits worldwide. Seldom performed these days, for various reasons, although there have been signs of a renaissance since the 1990s.

*STRUCTURE OF THIS THREAD*

Introduction

Who was Meyerbeer?
Structure of this thread (how very recursive!)

Meyerbeer and His Operas

Meyerbeer's life
What did Meyerbeer achieve?
What are Meyerbeer's operas about?
Wagner (and Schumann) hated his music, so I should too
OK, so who liked him?
What did they say about him?
Which musician did Meyerbeer most admire?
Where should I start?
Why?
I don't want to / don't have the time to listen to an entire Meyerbeer opera. What do you suggest?

_Robert le Diable
[*]Les Huguenots
[*]Le Prophète
[*]L'Étoile du Nord
[*]Le Pardon de Ploërmel (Dinorah)
[*]Vasco da Gama (L'Africaine)_
German and Italian operas
Non-operatic music

Orchestral music
Religious music
"Gli amori di Teolinda"
Songs

Meyerbeer and Wagner
What should I read?


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Meyerbeer, an unknown composer?.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

*II: Meyerbeer and His Operas*

*II: MEYERBEER AND HIS OPERAS*










*MEYERBEER'S LIFE*

Jakob Liebmann Beer, born 23 September 1791 to a wealthy Reformed Jewish family in Berlin. (Adopts the name Meyer in 1796, after his grandfather.)
A child prodigy; public performances as a virtuoso pianist at the age of 9.
1810-12: Studied music with the Abbé Vogler in Darmstadt; C.M. Weber a fellow student.
Composed three German operas (1812-14) - unsuccessfully received.
On Salieri's advice went to Italy to learn to write for the voice (1815). Italianised his name to Giacomo Meyerbeer.
Six Italian operas between 1817 and 1824, culminating in _Il Crociato in Egitto_. These operas made him the leading composer in Italy after Rossini.
In 1826, moved to Paris.
Six operas, produced over 4 decades, made him the leading opera composer in Europe between Rossini and Wagner:

_Robert le Diable_ (1831)
_Les Huguenots_ (1836)
_Le prophète_ (1849)
_L´étoile du nord_ (1854)
_Le pardon de Ploërmel _(_Dinorah_) (1859)
_Vasco da Gama_ (_L'Africaine_) (1866)

In 1830s and 1840s, moved between Paris and Berlin - from 1832, Prussian Court Kapellmeister; under Wilhelm IV (1840-61), Prussian Generalmusikedirektor and director of music for the Royal Court.
Died 2 May 1864, in Paris.

*WHAT DID MEYERBEER ACHIEVE?*

He turned opera from "a vehicle of emotions into a vehicle of ideas" (Döhring).
"Opera became a platform for the expression of metaphysical and philosophical ideas" (Brzoska).
Meyerbeer's approach became "the recognized international model for music drama for almost the next century" (Brzoska).
An intellectual collaboration between composer and librettist, which could last decades
New technical methods of composition were devised anew for each work and tailored to each opera's individual dramatic concept
In through-composed scenic complexes, musical forms became individualized to a very high degree
Premières were staged after intensive historical and technical research by a whole staff of specialists, and the results of their labours were documented in a livret de mise en scène

"He joined to the flowing melody of the Italians, the solid harmony of the Germans, the poignant declamation and varied, piquant rhythm of the French" (Herman Mendel). This "fusion of the musical vocabularies of three nations into a single personal style" (Scherer) became "the universal language of music drama" (Döhring).

*WHAT ARE MEYERBEER'S OPERAS ABOUT?*

"His operas are tremendous rebuttals against ethnic, religious and racial bigotry. They champion history over myth, cosmopolitanism over nationalism, tolerance over bigotry, and balance individuality with community…" (Pencak)
Faith, exile and integration, partisanship and universality, hatred and sacrificial love (Letellier: Introduction)
Brzoska: "His historical operas are not operas on historical subjects, but operas taking the historical process itself as their subject."

*WAGNER (AND SCHUMANN) HATED HIS MUSIC, SO I SHOULD TOO*
Wagner's attitude was complicated! His attitude to Meyerbeer in the 1830s seems to have been hero-worship; as late as 1849, his reaction to _Le Prophète _was rapture. (See post #11.) His criticism of Meyerbeer seems to come from frustration that Meyerbeer's operas were popular throughout the world, while Wagner found it difficult to get his operas produced. (Meyerbeer helped to get _Rienzi _and _Der fliegende Holländer _performed.) Detesting Meyerbeer became an act of faith among ardent Wagnerians, who organized a smear campaign to get Wagner's operas performed and denigrate Meyerbeer's. Their views became received critical wisdom.

Besides, pre-WWI audiences enjoyed Meyerbeer and Wagner; members of Wagner's circle (including Liszt and Von Bülow) admired Meyerbeer; and many Meyerbeer fans today also love Wagner's music. There's no reason liking one should make you hate the other.

Schumann and Wagner were also anti-Semitic.

And no, Meyerbeer didn't sabotage the success of _Tannhäuser _in Paris. (See post #11.)

*OK, SO WHO LIKED HIM?*
You want a list already? Verdi, Berlioz, Mussorgsky, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Gounod, Bizet, Saint-Saëns, Elgar, Mahler, and Richard Strauss. Goethe, Georges Sand, Balzac, Dumas fils, Mazzini and Théophile Gautier…

*WHAT DID THEY SAY ABOUT HIM?*

Lots of quotes about individual operas...


Verdi thought him a better musical dramatist than Mozart
Tchaikovsky: "An artist of genius…"
Bizet: "I place Beethoven above the greatest, the most renowned… Neither Mozart, with his divine form, nor Weber, with his powerful, colossal originality, *nor Meyerbeer, with his overwhelming, dramatic genius, *can, in my opinion, contend for the crown of the 'Titan', the 'Prometheus' of music."
Ravel preferred him to Wagner
Mazzini: "Meyerbeer moralized the drama, making it an echo of the world and its eternal vital problem. He is not a votary of the l'art pour l'art music; he is a prophet of the music with a mission, the music standing immediately below religion." He also compared Meyerbeer to Michelangelo, Beethoven and Shakespeare.
Eduard Hanslick: "An extraordinary musical imagination and an equally extraordinary artistic understanding…"
Camille Bellaigue: "One of the greatest of all the musicians of the theatre, and the chief of the musicians of history…"
More recently, Barrymore Laurence Scherer called him: "The most revolutionary dramatic composer of the nineteenth century before Richard Wagner"

*WHICH MUSICIAN DID MEYERBEER MOST ADMIRE?*

"The divine Mozart, the greatest musician of all times." He tried to emulate Mozart's universalism, and admired his clear conception of form (Becker).

*WHERE SHOULD I START?*
With the _Huguenots _or the _Prophète_. We'll look at the French operas first, then the Italian ones (briefly) [Section , and Meyerbeer's instrumental and choral music.

*WHY?*
Because the French operas are Meyerbeer's mature operas, the ones that made him famous around the world, the ones that 19th century audiences loved, and which show him at his best.

There are many beautiful things in the Italian operas, but examining them all in detail would be like telling someone new to Verdi to start with the galley operas rather than _Rigoletto_, _Aida_, _Don Carlos _or _Otello_; introducing Mozart with _Bastien und Bastienne_ or _Il sogno di Scipione_; or insisting that people listen to _Die Feen_ rather than _Tristan_.

*I DON'T WANT TO / DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO LISTEN TO AN ENTIRE MEYERBEER OPERA. WHAT CAN YOU RECOMMEND?*

_Meyerbeer on Record 1899-1913_ (2 vols.) Various artists, Marston Records.
_Ballet Music for the Operas_. Performed by the Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra, conducted by Michal Nesterowicz, Naxos, recorded Barcelona 2012.
_Overtures and Entr'actes from the French Operas_. Performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Darrell Ang, Naxos, recorded Wellington 2013.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

schigolch said:


> Meyerbeer, an unknown composer?.


Not a warhorse, neglected, underrated, and little known by the public!


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

*III: Robert le diable (1831)*

*III: ROBERT LE DIABLE*

"I am your father. Search your feelings; you know it to be true."
-_Star Wars_​
Grand opéra in 5 acts. Libretto by Eugène Scribe and Casimir Delavigne. First performed: Théâtre de l'Opéra (salle Le Peletier), Paris, 21 November 1831.










*WHAT'S THE STORY?*
The Middle Ages - knights in armor, tourneys, jousts, and beautiful princesses. Plus the devil and a ballet of undead nuns.

Robert, exiled Duke of Normandy, is torn between his evil mentor Bertram (really his father) and his good angel Alice. Bertram loves his son, but tries to damn him, by encouraging him to gamble, drink, dishonor himself, commit blasphemy, and rape his mistress. Should Robert follow his father into damnation, or live happily ever after with the woman of his dreams?

Characters:

Robert le Diable, Duke of Normandy (tenor)
Bertram, his friend - really a) his father and b) a devil, trying to damn him (bass)
Isabelle, Princess of Sicily (soprano)
Alice, Robert's foster-sister (soprano)
Raimbaut, her fiancé, a minstrel (tenor)

Setting: In and around Palermo, Sicily, c. 1250

Act I: Camp of the Norman knights on the beach of Palermo, with a view of the harbor.
Act II: A big hall in the palace.
Act III: Scene 1. A dark rocky landscape near the cavern of St. Irene. Scene 2. The cloisters of a ruined abbey.
Act IV: The bedchamber of Princess Isabelle.
Act V: Forecourt to the Cathedral of Palermo.

Detailed synopsis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_le_diable 
Libretto (in French): http://www.operone.de/libretto/meyerofr.html 
Libretto (Italian/French): http://www.dicoseunpo.it/M_files/Robert_diable.pdf 
Scores (French, German, Italian/English): http://imslp.org/wiki/Robert_le_diable_(Meyerbeer,_Giacomo)

*WHAT'S IT ABOUT?*

Letellier: "The eternal struggle in the human soul between light and darkness, good and evil" (Operas:120) - "posits a unified faith and a Romantic concept of the power of intercession" (Introduction:217)
Brzoska: "The human being torn between entanglement in evil and metaphysical redemption"

*RECEPTION*

Smash hit in Paris - 500 performances in Paris alone by the time of Meyerbeer's death; 758 continuous performances until 1893 (breaks only in 1869, 1875 & 1880). Soon spread around the world.
Chopin: "If ever magnificence was seen in the theatre, I doubt that it has reached the level of splendor shown in _Robert_… It is a masterpiece… Meyerbeer has made himself immortal."
Berlioz: "Provides the most astonishing example of the power of instrumentation when applied to dramatic music."
Verdi: "An outstanding alliance of the fantastic and the true in the manner of Shakespeare."
Liszt, Hanslick and Jean-François Le Sueur thought it inaugurated a new age of opera
Le Sueur: 'At the end of the current artistic period, whose exponent was embodied in Rossini, dramatic music espoused a hedonistic principle (l'âge de plaisir), but now, led on by Meyerbeer, it has been exposed to new shaping forces and thereby reinvented itself (cet âge actuel de force, d'énergie, de maturité de l'homme)


*RECOMMENDED RECORDINGS*
There's no studio recording, and no recording which a) uses the critical edition that also b) has a first-rate cast.

1985 Paris production, with Alain Vanzo, June Anderson, Samuel Ramey and Michèle Lagrange (audio): 




1985 Paris production, with Rockwell Blake, June Anderson, Samuel Ramey and Michèle Lagrange (video): 




2000 Berlin production, conducted by Mark Minkowski: 



. Uses the new critical edition.

*GREAT BITS*

"O Robert, toi que j'aime!" - sung in German by Gertrude Grob-Prandl : 




"Voici donc les debris" - sung by Pol Plançon, 1908: 




The ballet of the damned nuns: 




Act V trio - sung by Vanzo, Ramey and Lagrange: 





*ARRANGEMENTS*

Liszt - Cavatine de _Robert le diable_ de Meyerbeer, S412a : 




Liszt - Reminiscences de _Robert le diable_ de Meyerbeer, S413/R222 : 




Chopin - Grand duo concertant sur des thèmes de _Robert le Diable_, B. 70 : 




Thalberg - Fantaisie sur _Robert le diable_ de Meyerbeer, op. 6 : 




Fumagalli - Grande fantaisie pour la main gauche, Op. 106 :


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

*IV: Les Huguenots (1836)*

*LES HUGUENOTS*

"Oh, the Protestants hate the Catholics,
And the Catholics hate the Protestants…"
-Tom Lehrer, 'National Brotherhood Week'​
Grand opéra in 5 acts. First performed: Théâtre de l'Opéra (salle Le Peletier), Paris, 29 February 1836. Libretto by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps (with additional ideas, revisions and words by Gaetano Rossi, Adolphe Nourrit and Giacomo Meyerbeer).










*WHAT'S THE STORY?*
The Massacre of St Bartholomew's, 24 August 1572 - 30,000 Huguenots killed across France on the orders of Catherine de' Medici. With 'Ein feste Burg' as leitmotif.

Marguerite de Valois' plans to bring peace to the warring Catholic and Huguenot factions by marrying Raoul (Huguenot) to Valentine (Catholic) go badly wrong - Raoul thinks Valentine is Nevers' mistress and publicly insults her. The Catholics organize the massacre, and Raoul learns his mistake too late. His servant Marcel marries the lovers only moments before assassins led by Valentine's father, the fanatical Saint-Bris, kill them all.

Characters:

Marguerite de Valois, queen of Navarre (soprano)
Urbain, her page (soprano)
Raoul de Nangis, a Protestant gentleman (tenor)
Marcel, Huguenot soldier, Raoul's servant (basse profonde)
Le Comte de Nevers, a Catholic gentleman (basse chantante)
Le Comte de Saint-Bris, a Catholic gentleman (basse chantante)
Valentine, his daughter (soprano)

Setting: Touraine and Paris, August 1572.

Act I: A hall in the château of the Comte de Nevers in Touraine
Act II: The château and gardens of Chenonceaux near Ambroise.
Act III: The Pré-aux-Clercs on the banks of the Seine.
Act IV: A room in the city palace of the Comte de Nevers.
Act V: Scene 1: A brilliant ballroom in the Hôtel de Nesle where the marriage of Marguerite de Valois and Henri de Navarre is being celebrated. Scene 2: A cemetery adjoining a Protestant church. Scene 3: A Parisian street with starlit sky.

Detailed synopsis: www.operatoday.com/content/2006/11/meyerbeer_les_h.php 
Libretto (French): http://www.operone.de/libretto/meyehufr.html
Libretto (French/Italian): http://www.dicoseunpo.it/M_files/Gli_ugonotti.pdf 
Score (French, Italian, Italian/English, German): http://imslp.org/wiki/Les_Huguenots_(Meyerbeer,_Giacomo)

*WHAT'S IT ABOUT?*

The need to rise above sectarianism, to put individuals above ideology, and to see people for what they are, rather than as members of a group
Religious intolerance and social prejudice vs. harmony and reconciliation
Religion as social and political identity (class)
Religious partisanship as bigotry and fanaticism
The dangers of identity politics
A critique of determinism
The destructive potential of the mob - mass hysteria
Letellier: "Presents a critique of a failing religious ideal whilst individual nobility wins through" (Introduction:217)
Brzoska: "Sets the modern historical viewpoint of history as a collective social process following the philosophical ideas of his time"

*RECEPTION*

With _Don Giovanni_, perhaps the most popular opera in the 19th century. The first work of the 19th century to be performed more than a thousand times in Paris; the millennial performance took place in 1906, 70 years after the première.
Verdi: Acts II and IV are "true theatre… stupendo"
Berlioz: "Superb! A musical encyclopaedia with enough musical riches for 20 operas."
Tchaikovsky: "One of the finest operas in the whole repertoire", with its "amazing love scene in Act IV - which is surely the greatest ever scene of this kind - with its marvelous choruses, its strikingly original instrumentation, and ardently passionate melodies".
Wagner: "Meyerbeer wrote world history, the history of heart and feeling; he burst the bounds of national prejudice in writing deeds of music." (Even in old age, he still admired Act IV.)
Von Bülow: "One of the greatest moments of my life."
Georges Sand: "An evangel of love."
Mazzini: "The triumph of good through human suffering, sacrifice, and love… That opera stands alone, a beacon to indicate to future composers the course through which music may be directed towards a high social aim."
The opera became famous as "the Night of the Seven Stars", but Meyerbeer didn't intend it as a singers' opera (a vehicle for vocal exhibitionism). This is a misconception based on performance practices of the late 19th century, with abridgements "that damaged, if not destroyed, the subtly-balanced musical-dramatic tableau structures"; and which cut whole scenes and even Act 5. "Since the dramatic system of the historical opera is determined in Act 5, this amputation irrevocably falsified the vision of the work" (Letellier, _Introduction_:132).

*RECOMMENDED RECORDINGS*

Ghylaine Raphanel, Françoise Pollet, Richard Leech, Danièle Borst, Nicola Ghiuselev, Gilles Cachemaille and Boris Martinovich, with the Opera de Montpellier conducted by Cyril Diederich, Montpellier 1990: 




Eric Cutler, Philippe Rouillon, Jean-François Lapointe, Jérôme Varnier, Marlis Petersen, Mireille Delunsch and Yulla Lezhneva, with the Orchestre symphonique and choeurs de la Monnaie conducted by Marc Minkowski, Brussels 2011: 



 Uses the new Ricordi critical edition.

The Bonynge recordings suffer from inadequate tenors.

Joan Sutherland, Martina Arroyo, Huguette Tourangeau, Anastasios Vrenios, Nicola Ghiuselev and Gabriel Bacquier, with the New Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge, London 1969
Joan Sutherland, Clifford Grant, Amanda Thane, Suzanne Johnston, Anson Austin, John Pringle and John Wegner, with the Australian Opera Chorus and Australian Opera and Ballet-Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge, Sydney 1990: 



 (with English subtitles). Watching the DVD hooked me on Meyerbeer, and from Act III, it's an exciting performance that ratchets up the tension. However, it's heavily cut, Anson Austin is seriously overparted as Raoul, and Sutherland (in her farewell performance) doesn't have her voice of 20 years before.

*GREAT BITS*

"Plus blanche que la blanche hermine », sung by Nicolai Gedda : 




Act III Marcel/Valentine duet
Brussels : 




Bonynge : 





The Bénédiction des poignards (Blessing of the Swords) - Berlioz called it "one of the most shattering artistic inspirations of all time"
Bonynge, 1969: 




1953 French recording: 





The Act IV love duet - admired by Wagner; Bellaigue (writing after _Otello_) called it "the most chaste & idealistic duet in all opera"
Laute-Brun & Affre: 




Slezak & Bland: 




Montpellier version: 




Brussels version: 





The Act V trio: 





*ARRANGEMENTS*

Liszt's Reminiscences of _Les Huguenots_ (Carlo Lombardi):


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

*V: Le Prophète (1849)*

*V: LE PROPHÈTE*

"He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"
-_The Life of Brian_​
Grand opéra in 5 acts. First performed: Théâtre de l'Opéra (salle Le Peletier), 16 April 1849. Libretto by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps.










*WHAT'S THE STORY?*
A "sombre and fanatical" work, in Meyerbeer's own words, about the Peasants' War of the early 16th century and the tyrannical theocracy of John of Leyden (Jan Beukelszoon), the messianic ruler of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Zion in Münster.

Jean de Leyde turns terrorist after the local lord kidnaps his girlfriend and his mother. At the head of a cult, he captures Münster. In the cathedral, he is crowned Prophet-King, unborn of woman - to the horror and then indignation of his mother Fidès, whom he publicly repudiates. At the end, Jean blows up the Münster palace with all his enemies inside, and he and his mother are reunited in death.

Characters:

Jean de Leyde (tenor), innkeeper turned militant cult leader and self-proclaimed Son of God
Fidès (mezzo), his mother
Berthe (soprano), his fiancée
Le Comte d'Oberthal (bass)
Zacharie (bass), Mathisen (bass) and Jonas (tenor), three Anabaptists

Setting : In the Netherlands and Westphalia in 1534-35.

Act I: The countryside near Dordrecht, Holland
Act II: Jean and his mother's inn in a suburb of Leyden
Act III
Scene 1: An Anabaptist camp in a forest in Westphalia near Münster.
Scene 2: Zacharie's tent, with table and stools.
Scene 3: The camp, as in Scene 1.

Act IV
Scene 1: A marketplace in Münster.
Scene 2: The interior of the Lamberti Kirche, the Cathedral of Münster.

Act V
Scenes 1 and 2: A subterranean vault in the palace of Münster.
Scene 3: The banqueting hall in the palace.


Detailed synopsis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_prophète 
Libretto (French): http://www.operone.de/libretto/meyeprfr.html 
Libretto (German): http://www.operone.de/libretto/meyeprde.html 
Libretto (Italian/French): http://www.dicoseunpo.it/M_files/Prophete.pdf 
Score (French, Italian, German): http://imslp.org/wiki/Le_prophète_(Meyerbeer,_Giacomo)

*WHAT'S IT ABOUT?*

Religion as a propaganda tool
The dangers of utopianism
Political demagoguery
Cult mentality and charismatic leaders
Brzoska: "The individual involved in the historical emergence of the modern European world"
Letellier: "The impact of corrupted faith upon the individual and its consequences for those around him" (_Intro_:144) - "warns of the dangers of political excess and the blandishments of personalism in attempts to reform faith and transform society, and again elevates the role of the individual in intercession, mediation and repentance/atonement" (_Intro_:218)

*RECEPTION*

Another worldwide success. Performed 573 times in Paris until 1912. In the Milan repertoire until 1885, in London until 1895, in Berlin until 1910, in Vienna until 1911, in New York until 1928, and in Hamburg until 1929. Performed throughout South America, Australia and Egypt.
Reynaldo Hahn: "People of my father's generation would rather have doubted the solar system than the supremacy of _Le Prophète_ over all other operas."
Théophile Gautier: "These three operas compose an immense symbolic trilogy, filled with profound and mysterious meaning; the three principal phases of the human soul are found represented there: faith, examination, illumination. Faith corresponds to the past, examination to the present, illumination to the future. In order to be made visible, each one of these ideas has taken its necessary form: _Robert le Diable_, the legend; _Les Huguenots_, the chronicle; _Le Prophète_, the pamphlet."

*RECOMMENDED RECORDING*

The 1970 recording starring Nicolai Gedda as Jean and Marilyn Horne as Fidès, with the Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro di Torino della RAI conducted by Henry Lewis: 




(We're still waiting on a performance using the critical edition published in 2010. This incorporates the manuscript full score found in the Bibliothèque national de Paris and several sections of the opera cut during rehearsals, found in the Paris Opéra archives in the 1990s.)

*GREAT BITS*

Overture: 




"Un jour dans les flots de la Meuse" : 




Prêche anabaptiste: 




"Ah! mon fils"
Schumann-Heink (1906): 




Horne: 





Songe de Jean - Nicolai Gedda: 




"Pour Berthe, moi je soupire" - Gedda : 




Ice Skating Ballet (which became Les patineurs) : 




Act III finale (incl. "Roi du ciel"): 




Coronation March : 




Cathedral Scene - "the unattainable model of a mass scene" (Döhring:484), admired by Verdi: 




"Ô prêtres de Baal"
Schumann-Heink (1907) : 




Horne : 





Act V trio : 





*ARRANGEMENTS*

Liszt, Illustrations du _Prophète_, S. 414
No. 1. Prière ; hymne triomphale ; marche du sacré : 




No. 2. Les patineurs : Scherzo : 




No. 3. Pastorale. Appel aux armes : 





Liszt 'Les Patineurs' (Carlo Lombardi) : 




Liszt 'Illustrations du _Prophète_' (Louis Kentner) : 




Liszt Fantasie und Fuge über den Choral 'Ad nos, ad salutarem undam', S. 624, for piano duet:


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

*VI: L'Etoile du Nord (1854)*

*VI: L'ÉTOILE DU NORD*

Opéra-comique in 3 acts. First performance : Opéra-Comique (salle Favart), Paris, 16 February 1854. Libretto by Eugène Scribe.
Adapted from _Ein Feldlager in Schlesien_ (1844, see #10); only 6 numbers were used, all from Act II, including the finale.










*WHAT'S THE STORY?*
Russia, during the wars with Charles XII of Sweden - with disguises, transvestism and a mad scene with _two_ flutes.

Characters:

Peters Michaeloff, carpenter, really Peter the Great (bass)
Georges Skavronski, carpenter (tenor)
Catherine, his sister (soprano)
Prascovia, his fiancée (soprano)
Danilowitz, pastry chef (tenor)
Gritzenko, Kalmyk NCO (bass)
Nathalie, vivandière (soprano)
Ekimona, vivandière (soprano)
Ismailoff, Cossack (tenor)

Setting: In Finland and Russia (1698 conflated with 1712 and 1725)

Act I: A village in Viborg.
Act II: The Russian camp.
Act III: The Tsar's palace, in St Petersburg.

Scores (French, English/Italian): http://imslp.org/wiki/L'étoile_du_nord_(Meyerbeer,_Giacomo)

*WHAT'S IT ABOUT?*

Meyerbeer in a lighter mood, playing with conventions of the opéra comique, grand opera and opera seria genres.

*RECEPTION*

Berlioz praised it: www.hberlioz.com/feuilletons/debats540221.htm.
Within a year given 100 times in Paris; within 4 years seen in over 60 European cities and spreading all over the world. Soon given in all the major theatres of Europe, North Africa and the USA.
Particularly well received at Covent Garden -the audience's enthusiasm so moved Meyerbeer that he forgot the speech he had rehearsed, and stammered: "Gentlemen, the heart is so full that the words are nowhere!" A favorite opera there until 1890.
By the end of the 19th century, cuts turned it into a vehicle for a coloratura soprano.

*RECOMMENDED RECORDING*
None. It's been recorded twice. The 1975 Opera Rara recording is heavily cut, and the sound quality is poor. The 1996 Wexford Festival recording has an inadequate cast (except for Futral in the title role and a young spark called Flórez, in a minor role). Singers who can't pronounce French, bleating tenors and woolly basses make it an ordeal. Pity; an adequate recording would be a treat.

*GREAT BITS*

Overture: 




"Veille sur eux toujours" (Act I finale)
Joan Sutherland : 




Amelita Galli-Curci, 1922 : 





"O jours heureux" - - Pol Plançon, 1908 : 





*ARRANGEMENTS*

Johann Strauss II - Nordstern-Quadrille: 



 (delightful!)


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

*VII: Le Pardon de Ploërmel (Dinorah) (1859)*

*VII: LE PARDON DE PLOËRMEL (DINORAH)*

« Baaaaaaa ! »
-General Melchett​
Opéra comique in 3 acts. First performed: Opéra-Comique (2e salle Favart), 4 April 1859. Libretto by Jules-Paul Barbier and Michel-Florentin Carré (with additional words and translations by Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer, Georges-Frédéric Burguis and Giacomo Meyerbeer).










*WHAT'S THE STORY?*
A cursed treasure and a psychotic goatgirl who sings a lullaby to an imaginary goat and waltzes with her shadow. With one of Meyerbeer's most dazzling scores.

Characters:

Hoël (baritone), a goatherd and treasure seeker, once engaged to Dinorah
Corentin (young tenor), a young idiot and coward
Dinorah (soprano - première chanteuse légère), a mad goatgirl

Setting: Rural 19th-century Brittany.

Act I: The evening. A wild, hilly landscape, with a thatched cottage in the foreground.
Act II: The night.
Scene 1: A beechwood. Moonshine.
Scene 2: Dark night. The edge of a rocky glen.

Act III: The morning. A rural landscape at sunrise.

Synopsis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinorah 
Scores (French, Italian/German, Italian/English): http://imslp.org/wiki/Le_pardon_de_Ploërmel_(Meyerbeer,_Giacomo)

*WHAT'S IT ABOUT?
*
Döhring: "A virtuoso game combining the musical and scenic topography of Romantic opera and Romantic ballet (the "shadow aria" as an adaptation of the 'shadow dance') which defined the three-act work as a type of pastorale"
Letellier: "The slight pastoral tale in fact turns out to be a little parable of redemption" (_Operas_:230) - "illustrates the power of individual faith, goodness and love over superstition and fear" (_Introduction_:218)

*RECEPTION*

Berlioz: "Ingenious, subtle, piquant and often poetic"
Von Bülow: "An admirable, clean, elegant, clever buon-gustajo score, singularly adapted to polish the orchestra"
Letellier: "The score is his most virtuoso orchestral accomplishment: the huge overture, really a tone poem, the atmospheric entr'actes, and the overall imagination of his instrumentation, creates an extraordinary tapestry of sound." (_Operas_:233)

RECOMMENDED RECORDINGS

The 2003 Compiègne production, with Isabelle Philippe, Armand Arapian and Paolo Mazzotta (video): 




The 1979 Opera Rara production, with Deborah Cook, Christian Du Plessis and Alexander Oliver, conducted by James Judd.
The 2014 Berlin production, with Patrizia Ciofi - uses spoken dialogue 

*GREAT BITS*

Overture: 




"O puissante, puissante magie !" : 




Shadow Song - Isabelle Philippe: 




Act II finale - Storm terzetto : 




"Dors, petite" - Joan Sutherland : 




"Mon remords te venge" - Pol Plançon, 1905 : 





*ARRANGEMENTS*

Johann Strauss II - Dinorah-Quadrille: 




Burgmüller - Grand valse de salon sur « Le pardon de Ploërmel » de Meyerbeer :


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## cimirro (Sep 6, 2016)

Since you quoted Monty Python in "Le Prophéte" I must say "I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition!" concerning the unknown composers!!! and I hope nobody is planning to write about the now unknown Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern-schplenden-schiltter-crasscrenbon-fried-digger-dingle-dangle-dongle-dungle-burstein-von-knacker-thrasher-apple-banger-horowitz-ticolensic-grander-knotty-spelltinkle-grandlich-grumblemeyer-spelterwasser-kurstlich-himbleeisen-bahnwagen-gutenabend-bitte-ein-nürnburger-bratwustle-gerspurten-mitz-weimache-luber-hundsfut-gumeraber-shönendanker-kalbsfleisch-mittler-aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm.
(Sorry for my bad jokes) 

Well done! Congratulations. I'm really enjoying reading
All the best
Artur Cimirro


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

*Viii: Vasco da gama (l'africaine) (1866)*

*VIII: VASCO DA GAMA (L'AFRICAINE)*

Opéra in 5 acts. Libretto by Eugène Scribe (with revisions, additions and translations by Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer, Julius Duesberg and Giacomo Meyerbeer). First performance: Académie Impériale de Musique (salle Le Peletier), Paris, 28 April 1865.

Ship-wrecks, storms at sea, a poisonous tree, and the conquest of a new world.










*DON'T YOU MEAN L'AFRICAINE?
*No - that's like calling the _Ring_ "Siegfrieds Tod".

The original version - _L'Africaine_ - comes from 1837. The opera is set in the 16th century, in Seville, aboard a ship, and in central Africa, near the source of the Niger. The African princess Gunima (or Sélica) falls in love with the Spanish or Portuguese naval officer Fernand, who loves the governor's daughter Estrelle. At the end, Gunima kills herself by breathing in the poisonous blossoms of the manchineel tree (as Sélika does in the later opera).
Meyerbeer wasn't happy with the draft, which he thought conventional after Robert and Les Huguenots. He put the opera aside after Cornélie Falcon (intended for the role) left the stage, but composed some music for it in 1843.
In 1851, Meyerbeer suggested reworking the opera, with Vasco da Gama as the main tenor role. Scribe's second draft (1852) calls the opera _Vasco da Gama_.
Meyerbeer started to compose, but was interrupted by the two opéras-comiques. He concentrated on the opera from 1858.
Meyerbeer died the day after completing the copying of the full score - but before he could revise the work in rehearsals.
His widow entrusted the score to Fétis and du Locle. Their edits don't reflect Meyerbeer's intentions and weaken the opera.
Restored the original title of _L'Africaine_ (because the public expected it)
Moved the action to the island of Madagascar (trying to reconcile the "African" title with Hindu elements)
Changed instrumentation (replaced Meyerbeer's wind instruments with saxophone)
Cut several scenes
"Much of the music and action was suppressed, in spite of the damage this inflicted on the internal logic of the story" (Letellier).


*WHAT'S THE STORY?*
Vasco da Gama dreams of conquering new territories for Portugal. "Monde nouveau, tu m'appartiens; sois donc à moi!" His slaves Sélika (who loves him) and Nélusko (who hates him) could hold the key to finding a route to the other side of the world - if only he could get out of the Inquisition's dungeons.

Synopsis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'Africaine 
Libretto (Italian/French): http://www.dicoseunpo.it/M_files/africana.pdf
Libretto (Italian/English): https://archive.org/details/lafricaineslyric00meye 
I have a French/German libretto of _Vasco_; I'll email it to anyone who wants it.
Score (French, Italian, German): http://imslp.org/wiki/L'Africaine_(Meyerbeer,_Giacomo)

Characters:

Sélika, an Indian princess, captured as a slave (soprano - forte chanteuse)
Inès (soprano - 1re chanteuse légère)
Vasco de Gama, an explorer and heroic cad (tenor - fort ténor)
Nélusko, Sélika's servant, captured as a slave (baritone)
Don Diégo (2e basse), admiral, Inès's father
Don Pedro, president of the Portuguese royal council, another rotter (1re basse)

Setting: Lisbon, aboard a ship, and in India, 1497-98.

Act I: The Council Chamber of the king of Portugal, Lisbon.
Act II: The prison of the Inquisition in Lisbon.
Act III: A ship on the ocean.
Act IV: A tropical paradise.
Act 5
Scene 1: The queen's garden.
Scene 2: A promontory with a view of the ocean.


*WHAT'S IT ABOUT?*

Colonialism and racism
Debunking the great white European explorer/conqueror
Letellier: "Depicts the ultimate goal of personal love and self-sacrifice in a context of an expanding global politics of power and control" (_Introduction_:218)
Pencak: "A powerful testament against imperialism"

*RECEPTION*

An enormous success; one of Meyerbeer's most popular operas
However… Berlioz, Tchaikovsky and Delibes criticized _L'Africaine_ (thanks, Fétis!)
Döhring and Letellier think the work is flawed.
Letellier: "Turning a private tragedy (_Vecchia Africana_) into an historical drama with symbolic overtones (_Vasco_)" … "demanded a radical departure from the model, and really required a completely new work."


*RECOMMENDED RECORDINGS*

Vasco da Gama. Sung by Claudia Sorokina, Bernhard Berchtold, Guibee Yang and Pierre-Yves Pruvot, with the Chor der Oper Chemnitz and Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie, conducted by Frank Beermann. CPO 777 828-2, recorded Chemnitz 2013: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x27bgxf_meyerbeer-vasco-de-gama-chemnitz-february-2013_music
L'Africaine. Sung by Martina Arroyo, Giorgio Lamberti, Sherill Milnes and Alexander Malta, conducted by Gerd Albrecht. Recorded Munich 1977.

*GREAT BITS*

Prelude: 




Sélika's Air du sommeil
Leontyne Price : 




Felia Litvinne, 1904 & 1911: 





Nélusko's aria "Fille des rois" - Arthur Endrèze : 




Act II septet : 




Ballad of Adamastor
Ruffo - 1920 : 



 & 1929: 




Amato : 




Pruvot : 





Act III septet : 




"Ô paradis sorti de l'onde"
Thill : 




Berchtold, _Vasco _version : 





Scène du mancenillier : 





*ARRANGEMENTS*

Liszt - Illustrations de L'Africaine, S. 415
1. Prière des matelots : 




2. Marche indienne : 





Johann Strauss II - L'Africaine, Quadrille:


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

*Ix: German and italian operas*

*IX: GERMAN AND ITALIAN OPERAS*

*GERMAN OPERAS*
Three early German operas:
•	_Jephtas Gelübde_ (3 act Singspiel, 1812)
•	_Wirth und Gast / Alimelek_ (2 act Lustspiel mit Gesang, 1813)
•	_Das Brandenburger Tor_ (1 act Singspiel, 1814)

Only _Alimelek _has been recorded. Here's the overture: 




One later Singspiel:
_Ein Feldlagen in Schlesien _(_Vielka_) (1844)
Some of the music was used in _L'Etoile du Nord_.


Overture (Erich Kleiber): 




"Glück bedeuten dieses Töne" (Norma Sharp & Volker Horn): 





*ITALIAN OPERAS*










Six Italian operas:

_Romilda e Costanza_ (melodramma semiserio, 1817)
_Semiramide riconosciuta_ (2 act dramma per musica, 1819)
_Emma di Resburgo_ (melodramma eroico, 1819)
_Margherita d'Anjou_ (2 act melodramma semiserio, 1820)
_L'esule di Granata_ (2 act melodramma, 1822)
_Il crociato in Egitto_ (2 act melodramma, 1824)

There are two recordings of _Semiramide _and one recording of _Emma di Resburgo_. Opera Rara have recorded _Margherita d'Anjou_, _L'esule di Granata_ (highlights), and _Il crociato in Egitto_. There's also a DVD of a performance of _Il crociato _at La Fenice.

Some highlights:

_Emma di Resburgo_ - Overture: 




_Margherita d'Anjou_ - Act I finale: 




_Margherita d'Anjou_ - Terzetto & sestetto: 




_L'esule di Granata_ - Introduzione: 




_Il crociato in Egitto_
Act I finale: 




"Queste destre l'acciar di morte" (Bruce Ford): 




Act II quartet & quintet: 




Inno della morte: "Suona funerea" (Bruce Ford): 




Trio "Giovinetto cavalier" : 






Opera Rara also published a highlights CD, _Meyerbeer in Italy_, starring Yvonne Kenny, Bruce Ford, Diana Montague, Chris Merritt, Della Jones and Alastair Miles, conducted by David Parry, recorded London 2002.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

*X: Non-operatic music*

*X: NON-OPERATIC MUSIC*

*ORCHESTRAL MUSIC*

Struensée overture (1844): 




Clarinet quintet in E-flat major (1813): 




Fantasy for clarinet & string quartet (ca. 1839): 




Four Fackeltänze (torch dances performed at German courts for royal wedding celebrations):
No. 1 in B-flat major for Princess Marie (1844): 




No. 2 in E-flat major for Princess Charlotte (1850): 




No. 3 in C-minor for Princess Anna (1856): 




No. 4 in C-major for the Prussian royal wedding (1858): 





Schiller Marsch (1859): 




Fest-Ouvertüre im Marschstyl for the London Expo 1862: 





Recommended CDs:

_Music for Festive Occasions_. Performed by the Radio-Philharmonie Hannover des NDR, conducted by Michail Jurowski, CPO, recorded Hannover 1995.
_Struensee_. Performed by the Radio-Philharmonie Hannover des NDR, conducted by Michail Jurowski, CPO, recorded Hannover 1995.

*RELIGIOUS MUSIC*
The fan of religious music should check out _Hallelujah - The Choral Works_, with the Rheinische Kantorei conducted by Hermann Max, WDR. The "Geistliche Gesänge" is beautiful.


Psalm 91: 




Pater noster: 





*GLI AMORI DI TEOLINDA*
A virtuoso cantata for soprano and clarinet, 1816

Nelly Miricioiu and Emma Johnson: 




Julia Varády and Jorg Fädle, with the Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin conducted by Gerd Albrecht, Orfeo, recorded Berlin 1991: 





*SONGS*

_Lieder_ (vinyl), sung by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, accompanied by Karl Engel, Archiv Produktion, recorded Berlin 1974: 




_Rossini and Meyerbeer_, sung by Thomas Hampson, accompanied by Geoffrey Parsons, EMI, recorded London 1991.
Sicilienne: 




"Komm! du schönes Fischermädchen": 




Chant des moissonneurs vendéens: 




Le Poète mourant : 




Der Garten des Herzens: 




La Chanson de Maître Floh: 




Der Rose, die Lilie, die Taube: 




Lied des venezianischen Gondoliers: 





Songs, sung by Sivan Rotem, accompanied by Jonathan Zak, Naxos, recorded Jerusalem 2009.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

*Xi: Meyerbeer and wagner*

*XI: MEYERBEER AND WAGNER*

Meyerbeer sponsored Wagner's early operas, and secured performances for _Rienzi _and _Holländer_; Meyerbeer refused to lend Wagner money (at a time when Wagner was a political fugitive and Meyerbeer a Prussian court official); Wagner wrote _Music and Drama _(criticizing Meyerbeer) and _The Jew in Music _(criticizing Meyerbeer without naming him). Meyerbeer was more hurt by Wagner's criticism of his operas than the anti-Semitic slurs, but was still interested in Wagner's music, and attended performances of _Lohengrin_ and concerts of _Tristan_.

Part of Wagner's campaign against Meyerbeer seems to have been for political rather than aesthetic reasons - to supplant Meyerbeer as the most popular opera composer in Europe.

His first reaction to _Le Prophète _(after criticizing Meyerbeer) was rapturous. In a letter to his friend Uhlig, he called it 
"the prophet of the new world. I felt happy and up-lifted, abandoned all moving plans that seemed so godless to me, because the pure, noble, holy truth and divine human being lives here directly and warmly in the blessed presence. Don't reproach me for this change of mind: he who is only concerned with the subject, won't hold on to any prejudice, but abandons willingly all false principles, as soon as he notices that these were inspired only by personal vanity. When a genie comes and throws us into other directions, a person filled with enthusiasm will be happy to follow everywhere, even if he himself feels incapable of achieving something in his tracks. I am beginning to realize that I am going into raptures when I think of this evening of revelation: Forgive me."

There's an old rumor that Meyerbeer sabotaged the success of _Tannhäuser_. The Richard Burton Wagner miniseries films the scene, with Vernon Dobtcheff playing Meyerbeer. Heinz Becker gives the lie to the rumor.

Meyerbeer was in Berlin at the time. He also writes in his diary:

"Today the news arrived of the first Paris performance of _Tannhäuser_, which apparently has been a full-scale fiasco. The public laughed outright at several passages (regarding both text and music), and on occasion even booed. Princess Metternich and Countess Seebach, to whose protection people ascribed the performance of the work, became the butt of such ridicule by the public that they left the theater after act 2. Such an unusual demonstration of dissatisfaction with a work that, in any case, is so admirable and talented would appear to be the result of a cabal, and not a genuine popular verdict. In my opinion, it will only stand the work in good stead at later performances."

For more on the Wagner/Meyerbeer relationship, see Brod and Kaufman.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

There's so much here to digest and hear. Maybe this should be Unknown Composer of the Year (just joking). Thanks for the detailed discussion. I admit to only having heard one Meyerbeer opera - Les Huguenots. I'll sample arias and overtures for now.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

*Xii: What should i read?*

*XII: WHAT SHOULD I READ?*

The Meyerbeer Fan Club website (www.meyerbeer.com) has been down since the end of last year.

I've written two articles on Meyerbeer for MusicWeb International:

"Meyerbeer: From Berlin to India" (discussing _Vasco da Gama_): http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2015/Oct/Meyerbeer_article.htm
"Giacomo Meyerbeer: A Listening Guide": http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2015/Dec/Meyerbeer_guide.htm

Robert Ignatius Letellier is the Meyerbeer expert in English.

_Meyerbeer Studies: A Series of Lectures, Essays, and Articles on the Life and Work of Giacomo Meyerbeer_. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2005.
_The Operas of Giacomo Meyerbeer_. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2006.
_An Introduction to the Dramatic Works of Giacomo Meyerbeer: Operas, Ballets, Cantatas, Plays_. Ashgate, 2008.
(As editor) _Giacomo Meyerbeer: A Reader_. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2007. Particularly:
Camille Bellaigue, "Meyerbeer" (1896)
Hermann Klein, "The Treasures of Meyerbeer" (1925, 1932)
Cecil Gray, "From A History of Music" (1928), "A Note on Meyerbeer" (1947)
Bernard van Dieren, "Meyerbeer" from Down Among the Dead Men (1936)
Heinz Becker, "Giacomo Meyerbeer On the Occasion of the Centenary of his Death"(1964)
Max Brod, "Some Comments on the Relationship between Wagner and Meyerbeer" (1964)
Barrymore Laurence Scherer, "Meyerbeer: the Man and his Music" (1978, 2007)
Sieghard Döhring, "Giacomo Meyerbeer and the Opera of the Nineteenth Century" (1983, 1999)
Robert Ignatius Letellier, "The Nexus of Faith, Power, Love and Death in the Operas of Giacomo Meyerbeer" (1991, 2005)
William Pencak, "Why We Must Listen to Meyerbeer" (1999)
Tom Kaufman, "Wagner vs. Meyerbeer" (2002, 2007)
Matthias Brzoska, "Remarks about Meyerbeer's Le Prophète" (2004)


Writing this guide would have been impossible without his books!

Pour les francophones parmi nous :

Arthur Pougin. _Meyerbeer : Notes biographiques_. J. Tresse, Paris, 1864. https://ia600301.us.archive.org/12/items/meyerbeernotesb00pouggoog/meyerbeernotesb00pouggoog.pdf 
Ange Henri Blaze de Bury. _Meyerbeer et son temps_. M. Lévy, Paris, 1865. https://archive.org/details/meyerbeeretsonte00blaz
Henry Eymieu. _L'œuvre de Meyerbeer_. Fischbacher, Paris, 1910. https://archive.org/details/loeuvredemeyerbe00eymi 
Sergio Segalini. _Diable ou prophète?: Meyerbeer_. BEBA, 1985.

Meyerbeer in his own words:

Heinz and Gudrun Becker (eds.). _Giacomo Meyerbeer: A Life in Letters_. Daedalus Books, 1989.
Letellier (ed.) _The Diaries of Giacomo Meyerbeer_ (4 vols.) Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1999.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

mmsbls said:


> There's so much here to digest and hear. Maybe this should be Unknown Composer of the Year (just joking). Thanks for the detailed discussion. I admit to only having heard one Meyerbeer opera - Les Huguenots. I'll sample arias and overtures for now.


I'm surprised I was able to get it all (except the bibliography) onto one page!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> I'm surprised I was able to get it all (except the bibliography) onto one page!


It's all very interesting Simon, well done, many thanks.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Pugg said:


> It's all very interesting Simon, well done, many thanks.


A labor of love!


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

I second the 'very well done'. Thanks.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Thank you, Simon, for taking the time to compile such a wealth of information, presented in an organized and engaging manner. I'm very much enjoying your descriptions of Meyerbeer's works, reception, influence and style. This thread should be published--it's much better than many of the articles in encyclopedias such as Grove Music.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

After re-reading all of this fascinating material several times, I thought of a question: why isn't there any exotic-sounding music in Meyerbeer's Vasco da Gama? Usually, when operas are set in exotic regions, the composer incorporates some Oriental elements into the musical style (such as in Delibes' Lakme, Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila, and so on). 

In contrast to most other exotic operas, Meyerbeer's music for Vasco da Gama (as far as I can remember) sounds thoroughly Western. Does anyone have any guesses as to why this is the case? Is this because Meyerbeer simply wasn't interested in exploring ethnic musical styles? This is certainly not a criticism...it's a great opera and I love the music, but I was just curious about why Meyerbeer broke away from the convention of using exotic musical styles for non-Western characters.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Bettina said:


> After re-reading all of this fascinating material several times, I thought of a question: why isn't there any exotic-sounding music in Meyerbeer's Vasco da Gama? Usually, when operas are set in exotic regions, the composer incorporates some Oriental elements into the musical style (such as in Delibes' Lakme, Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila, and so on).
> 
> In contrast to most other exotic operas, Meyerbeer's music for Vasco da Gama (as far as I can remember) sounds thoroughly Western. Does anyone have any guesses as to why this is the case? Is this because Meyerbeer simply wasn't interested in exploring ethnic musical styles? This is certainly not a criticism...it's a great opera and I love the music, but I was just curious about why Meyerbeer broke away from the convention of using exotic musical styles for non-Western characters.


Interesting question! Meyerbeer uses more exotic music in the European acts to depict Sélika and Nélusko - but less so in the Indian acts themselves, which sound "gauzier" (a different kind of exoticism?). I'm thinking of:

-	The entrance of Sélika & Nélusko in Act I: 



-	Sélika's Air du sommeil (Act II): 



-	The chorus of Indians at the end of Act III: 



-	The marche Indienne (Act IV) - spikily exotic, although the entrance of the priests and priestesses sounds more Western (counterpart to the Inquisition in Portugal): 




I wonder, though, how much authentic Indian music Europeans of that time knew. Roussel used Indian music in _Padmâvati_ fifty years later (comp. 1918, perf. 1923), but he'd lived in Asia and visited India.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

The only Mayerbeer I have is this wonderful opera DVD:


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

Simon, you may have set some sort of example on treating less known composers that'll be hard to follow!


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Florestan said:


> The only Mayerbeer I have is this wonderful opera DVD:


Wonderful is the word! Realistic scenery meets stylised pastoral ballet; it's fresh, imaginative and suits the opera. Meyerbeer, I think, would have been pleased.

And the final scene is magical.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

SimonTemplar said:


> Wonderful is the word! Realistic scenery meets stylised pastoral ballet; it's fresh, imaginative and suits the opera. Meyerbeer, I think, would have been pleased.
> 
> And the final scene is magical.


Agree. Here is the whole opera, but no subtitles: 




Isabelle Philippe provides amazing coloratura soprano throughout.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

I sampled a number of arias/preludes/overtures and found these very enjoyable. I think I might try VASCO DA GAMA (L'AFRICAINE) when I have some time.

LE PROPHÈTE: "Un jour dans les flots de la Meuse"
L'ÉTOILE DU NORD: "Veille sur eux toujours"
LE PARDON DE PLOËRMEL: Act II finale – Storm terzetto
LE PARDON DE PLOËRMEL: "Dors, petite"
VASCO DA GAMA (L'AFRICAINE): Prelude
VASCO DA GAMA (L'AFRICAINE): Act III septet


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Florestan said:


> The only Mayerbeer I have is this wonderful opera DVD:


I've been searching for this one, the prices are outrages


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Be warned that Kultur version of this DVD contains English subtitles "burned" into the video (you cannot turn them off).
On the other hand, original DVD from Cascavelle has normal subtitles. So ignore Kultur and hunt Cascavelle one.
Anyway, it's a great opera, well worth your time and money. Baritone was slightly overparted in the difficult scene of last act. Except for this, great singing and acting throughout.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Azol said:


> Be warned that Kultur version of this DVD contains English subtitles "burned" into the video (you cannot turn them off).
> On the other hand, original DVD from Cascavelle has normal subtitles. So ignore Kultur and hunt Cascavelle one.
> Anyway, it's a great opera, well worth your time and money. Baritone was slightly overparted in the difficult scene of last act. Except for this, great singing and acting throughout.


Thank you for the advice Azol. I will continue my search .


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

.....a duplicate. Sorry.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

What a wealth of information on this thread. My compliments SimonTemplar and thank you sincerely.
I must add, though, that among the achievements he made was improving theatrical presentations of operas that Wagner developed further. 
Dave.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I certainly wouldn't call Meyerbeer "unknown". Unfairly neglected, yes.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Azol said:


> Be warned that Kultur version of this DVD contains English subtitles "burned" into the video (you cannot turn them off).


That is one thing that does not bother me, so long as English subtitles. I routinely copy my disks to .mkv files to save space and for the convenience of not having to select subtitles (I burn them in on the .mkv files). Also it eliminates menus and intro hassles so the video goes straight to the program.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Florestan said:


> That is one thing that does not bother me, so long as English subtitles. I routinely copy my disks to .mkv files to save space and for the convenience of not having to select subtitles (I burn them in on the .mkv files). Also it eliminates menus and intro hassles so the video goes straight to the program.


I do have a Mozart DVD with Japanese subtitles burned in, very annoying.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Florestan said:


> That is one thing that does not bother me, so long as English subtitles. I routinely copy my disks to .mkv files to save space and for the convenience of not having to select subtitles (I burn them in on the .mkv files). Also it eliminates menus and intro hassles so the video goes straight to the program.


I prefer to watch the opera for the first time with subtitles on, but after that subtitles start getting in the way so I prefer to hide those completely. Immersion, immersion...


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Meyerbeer's operas are very long and given to spectacle, which would be very expensive to stage.

Grand Opera is dead, given the dwindling budgets of many opera houses.

Also, the Nazis helped nail Meyerbeer's coffin completely shut.


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

I think I have only a CD of the ballet music from some of his operas, and a few other selections (plus the clarinet quintet). This is a lot of information. Thanks.


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

What is it about this forum that seems to dislike page 3 of a thread. I often find that I can see pages 1 and 2, and 4, 5, etc. if we get that far, but cannot get to page 3 to read anything there. This has happened on several threads, and it always seems to be page 3. (Perhaps that is a coincidence, and perhaps not.)

(. . . but now it seems to be working.)


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## Bruckner Anton (Mar 10, 2016)

Thank you for your excellent post about the great opera composer neglected in 20th century.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Orfeo said:


> What a wealth of information on this thread. My compliments SimonTemplar and thank you sincerely.
> I must add, though, that among the achievements he made was improving theatrical presentations of operas that Wagner developed further.
> Dave.


Thank you!

He did indeed; some critics argue that the grand opéra was the "unified art work" (music, theatre, singing, dance, painting).

And you're right; Wagner was influenced by Meyerbeer's ideas of theatre. _Tannhäuser_ is modelled on _Robert le Diable_. The Montsalvat website, devoted to _Parsifal_, has a good section on _Robert_'s influence on Wagner: http://www.monsalvat.no/meyerber.htm


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

hpowders said:


> Meyerbeer's operas are very long and given to spectacle, which would be very expensive to stage.
> 
> Grand Opera is dead, given the dwindling budgets of many opera houses.
> 
> Also, the Nazis helped nail Meyerbeer's coffin completely shut.


In Meyerbeer's own lifetime, he was performed in provincial and minor theatres that didn't have the resources to put on the lavish effects of Paris productions. His operas can also be staged in concert productions (which in the age of Regietheater might be the way to go!).

For the last couple of decades, that coffin lid has been slowly pried open. And remember - Verdi and Handel were rediscovered in the 1920s, Rossini and Donizetti in the 1960s. Nothing is impossible!


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Bruckner Anton said:


> Thank you for your excellent post about the great opera composer neglected in 20th century.


My pleasure! (With regards to an excellent 19th century Austrian composer!)


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## John Kiunke (Mar 25, 2016)

This is really incredible how extensive your research and knowledge of Meyerbeer's operas is, but he is not really an unknown composer. Eybler, Krommer, Kozeluch, and Wolfl most unjustly are.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

John Kiunke said:


> This is really incredible how extensive your research and knowledge of Meyerbeer's operas is, but he is not really an unknown composer. Eybler, Krommer, Kozeluch, and Wolfl most unjustly are.


Perhaps not but surely underrated.


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## cimirro (Sep 6, 2016)

SimonTemplar said:


> *III: ROBERT LE DIABLE*
> 
> *ARRANGEMENTS*
> [*]Fumagalli - Grande fantaisie pour la main gauche, Op. 106 : ]


Dear Simon

Today I posted a recording on youtube I made on this arrangement by Fumagalli
the one you gave the link is incomplete (missing more than one page of music)




BTW, a quite interesting Fantasy on "Robert le diable" for the left hand alone!

All the best
Artur


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

cimirro said:


> Dear Simon
> 
> Today I posted a recording on youtube I made on this arrangement by Fumagalli
> the one you gave the link is incomplete (missing more than one page of music)
> ...


Bravo, Artur! Thank you for this!

Nick


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## Tallisman (May 7, 2017)

Does Old Jacko warrant this much threadspace? :lol:


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## cimirro (Sep 6, 2016)

Tallisman said:


> Does Old Jacko warrant this much threadspace? :lol:


My poor English was not enough sufficient to understand what exactly do you mean, can you explain it to me, please?
Best
Artur


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

cimirro said:


> My poor English was not enough sufficient to understand what exactly do you mean, can you explain it to me, please?
> Best
> Artur


Sometimes it's better not knowing Cimirro.


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## cimirro (Sep 6, 2016)

Pugg said:


> Sometimes it's better not knowing Cimirro.


Well, first, I'm not a coward nor I'm afraid of other opinions
Second, when I notice a coward I love to tell "I know who you are" :devil:
But I can't say that unless I have "proves"... so, asking is quite important.

You know, everything an artist needs to do is paying a magazine executive's editor, and public opinions change in majority... that's the capitalism...

You are a wonderful and kindly diplomatic person, Pugg. 
Always when I feel myself fine inside TC I notice your name is related at some point :tiphat:

Best
Artur


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## Anankasmo (Jun 23, 2017)

Wow thanks for your surely massive effort in creating these posts. Keep on doing this please  Really informative!


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Tallisman said:


> Does Old Jacko warrant this much threadspace? :lol:


*********Yes*********


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