GIACOMO See also:

• GIACOMO MEYERBEER (1791-1863)

MEYERBEER (1791-1863)  , See also:

• GERMAN
• GERMAN, DUTCH AND SCANDINAVIAN

German composer, first known as See also:

• JAKOB, LUDWIG HEINRICH VON (1759—1827)

Jakob See also:

• MEYER, CHRISTIAN ERICH HERMANN VON (18or-1869)
• MEYER, HEINRICH AUGUST WILHELM (1800-1873)
• MEYER, JULIUS LOTHAR (183o-1895)
• MEYER, KONRAD FERDINAND (1825-1898)
• MEYER, VICTOR (1848-1897)
• MEYER, [MARIE] PAUL HYACINTHE (184o- )

Meyer See also:

• BEER

Beer, was See also:

• BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born at See also:

• BERLIN
• BERLIN, CONGRESS AND TREATY OF
• BERLIN, ISAIAH (1725–1799)

Berlin on the 5th of See also:

• SEPTEMBER (Lat. septem, seven)

September 1791,1 of a wealthy and talented Jewish See also:

• FAMILY

family . His See also:

• FATHER

father, Herz Beer, was a banker; his See also:

• MOTHER

mother, Amalie (nee Wulf), was a woman of high intellectual culture; and two of his See also:

• BROTHERS, RICHARD (1757-1824)

brothers distinguished themselves in See also:

• ASTRONOMY (from Gr. &arpov, a star, and v ,usiv, to classify or arrange)

astronomy and literature . He studied the See also:

• PIANOFORTE (Ital. piano, soft, and forte, loud)

pianoforte, first under Lauska, and afterwards under Lauska's See also:

• MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master, See also:

• CLEMENTI, MUZIO (c. 1751-1832)

Clementi . When seven years old he played See also:

• MOZART, WOLFGANG AMADEUS1 (1756–1791)

Mozart's See also:

• CONCERTO (Lat. concertus, from certare, to strive, also con-fused with concentus)

Concerto in D See also:

• MINOR
• MINOR (Lat. for smaller, lesser)
• MINOR, ROBERT CRANNELL (1839-1904)

Minor in public, and at nine he was pronounced the best pianist in Berlin . For See also:

• COMPOSITION
• COMPOSITION (Lat. compositio, from componere, to put together)

composition he was placed under Zelter, and then under See also:

• BERNARD, CHARLES DE
• BERNARD, CLAUDE (1813-1878)
• BERNARD, JACQUES (1658--1718)
• BERNARD, MOUNTAGUE (1S2o—1882)
• BERNARD, SAINT
• BERNARD, SAINT (Iogo-1153)
• BERNARD, SIMON (1779—1839)
• BERNARD, SIR THOMAS, BART

Bernard See also:

• WEBER, CARL MARIA FRIEDRICH ERNEST VON (1786–1826)
• WEBER, WILHELM EDUARD (1804-1891)

Weber, director of the Berlin See also:

• OPERA (Italian for " work ")

opera, by whom he was introduced to the See also:

• ABBE (Serbo-Croatian Rai))

Abbe See also:

• VOGLER, GEORG JOSEPH (1749-1814)

Vogler . Vogler invited him to See also:

• DARMSTADT

Darmstadt, and in 1810 received him into his See also:

• HOUSE
• HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

house, where he formed an intimate friendship with Karl Maria von Weber, who also took daily lessons in See also:

• COUNTERPOINT (Lat. contrapunctus, " point counter point," " note against note ")

counterpoint, See also:

• FUGUE (Lat. fuga, flight)

fugue and extempore See also:

• ORGAN

organ-playing . At the end of two years the See also:

• GRAND

grand See also:

• DUKE (corresponding to Fr. duc, Ital. duca, Ger. Herzog)

duke appointed See also:

• MEYERBEER, GIACOMO (1791-1863)

Meyerbeer composer to the See also:

• COURT
• COURT (from the O. Fr. court, Late Lat. cortis, curtis, a popular form of class. Lat. cohors, gen. cohortis; the mod. Fr. form tour is due to the influence of the Lat. curia, the word used in medieval documents to translate " court " in the feudal sense)
• COURT, ANTOINE (1696-176o)

court . His first opera, Jephtha's Geliibde, failed lamentably at Darmstadt in 1811, and his second, Wirth and Gast (Alimelek), at See also:

• VIENNA (Ger. Wien; Lat. Vindobona)
• VIENNA, CONGRESS OF (1814-1815)

Vienna in 1814 . These checks discouraged him so cruelly that he feared he had mistaken his vocation . Nevertheless, by See also:

• ADVICE (Fr. avis, from Lat. ad, to, and visum, viewed)

advice of See also:

• SALIERI, ANTONIO (1750-1825)

Salieri he determined to study vocalization in See also:

• ITALY
• ITALY (Italia)

Italy, and then to See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form a new See also:

• STYLE
• STYLE (from Gr. a-6'1ms, a column; a different word from that used in literature, see below)

style . But at See also:

• VENICE
• VENICE (continued)
• VENICE (Venezia)

Venice he was so captivated by See also:

• ROSSINI, GIOACHINO ANTONIO (1792-1868)

Rossini that, renouncing all thought of originality, he produced a See also:

• SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession of seven See also:

• ITALIAN

Italian operas—Romilda e Costanza, Semiramide riconosciuta, Eduardo e Cristina, Emma di Resburgo, Margherita d'See also:

• ANJOU

Anjou, L'Esule di Granata and Il Crociato in Egitto—which all achieved a success as brilliant as it was unexpected . Against this See also:

• ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act of See also:

• TREASON (Fr. trahison, Lat. traditio)

treason to German See also:

• ART

art Weber protested most earnestly; and before See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long Meyerbeer himself See also:

• GREW, NEHEMIAH (1641-1712)

grew tired of his defection .

An invitation to See also:

• PARIS
• PARIS (also called ALEXANDROS)
• PARIS, ALEXIS PAULIN (1800-x881)
• PARIS, BRUNO PAULIN GASTON (1839-1903)
• PARIS, FRANCOIS DE (169o-1727)
• PARIS, LOUIS PHILIPPE ALBERT
• PARIS, TREATIES OF (1814-1815)

Paris in 1826 led him to See also:

• REVIEW (Fr. revue, from revoir, to see again, Lat. re and videre)

review his position dispassionately, and he came to the conclusion that he was wasting his See also:

• POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers . For several years he produced nothing in public; but, in See also:

• CONCERT (through the French from Lat. con-, with, and certare, to strive)

concert with See also:

• SCRIBE, AUGUSTIN EUGENE (1791-1860, French dramatist, was born in Paris on the 24th of December 1791. His father was a silk merchant, and he was well educated, being destined for the bar. But, having a real gift for the theatre, a gift which unfortunately

Scribe, he planned his first See also:

• FRENCH
• FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
• FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)

French opera, See also:

• ROBERT
• ROBERT (1275—1343)
• ROBERT, HUBERT (1753-1808)
• ROBERT, LOUIS LEOPOLD (1794-1835)

Robert le Diable . This gorgeous spectacle was produced at the Grand Opera in 1831 . It was the first of its See also:

• RACE

race, a grand romantic opera, with situations more theatrically effective than any that had been attempted either by See also:

• CHERUBINI, MARIA LUIGI CARLO ZENOBIO SALVATORE (1760-1842)

Cherubini or Rossini, and with See also:

• BALLET

ballet See also:

• MUSIC

music such as had never yet been heard, even in Paris . Its popularity exceeded all expectations; yet for five years Meyerbeer appeared before the public no more . His next opera, See also:

• LES

Les See also:

• HUGUENOTS

Huguenots, was first performed in 1836 . In gorgeous colouring, rhetorical force, consistency of dramatic treatment, and careful accentuation of individual types, it is at least the equal of Robert le Diable . In two points only did its See also:

• INTEREST

interest fall See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short of that inspired by the earlier See also:

• WORK

work . Meyerbeer had shown himself so eminently successful in his treatment of the supernatural that one regretted the omission of that See also:

• ELEMENT (Lat. elementum)

element; and, more important still, the fifth act proved to be an See also:

• ANTI, or CAMPA

anti-See also:

• CLIMAX, JOHN (c. 525–600 A.D.)

climax . The true interest of the See also:

• DRAMA (literally "action," from Gr. Snail, act or do)

drama culminates at the See also:

• CLOSE
• CLOSE (from Lat. clausum, shut)
• CLOSE, MAXWELL HENRY (1822-1903)

close of the See also:

• FOURTH

fourth act, when Raoul, leaping from the window to his See also:

• DEATH

death, leaves See also:

• VALENTINE, or VALENTINUS

Valentine fainting upon the ground . The opera now usually ends at the fourth act . After the See also:

• PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production of Les Huguenots Meyerbeer spent many years in the preparation of his next greatest See also:

• WORKS

works—L'Africaine and Le Prophete .

The libretti of both these operas were furnished 1 Or, according to some accounts, 1794 . by Scribe; and both were subjected to countless changes; in fact, ,.he See also:

• STORY, JOHN (c. 1510-1571)
• STORY, JOSEPH (1779-1845)
• STORY, ROBERT HERBERT (1835-1907)
• STORY, WILLIAM WETMORE (1819—1895)

story of L'Africaine was more than once entirely rewritten . Meanwhile Meyerbeer accepted the See also:

• APPOINTMENT, POWER OF

appointment of kapellmcister to the See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

king of See also:

• PRUSSIA
• PRUSSIA (Ger. Preussen; Lat. Borussia)

Prussia, and spent some years at Berlin, where he produced Ein Feldlager in Schlesien, a German opera, in which Jenny See also:

• LIND, JENNY

Lind made her first See also:

• APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance in Prussia . Here also he composed, in 1846, the See also:

• OVERTURE (Fr. ouverture, opening)

overture to his See also:

• BROTHER

brother See also:

• MICHAEL
• MICHAEL (1596-1645)
• MICHAEL (Hebrew Sn,q, " Who is like God? ")

Michael's drama, See also:

• STRUENSEE, JOHAN FREDERICK (1731-1772)

Struensee . But his See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief care at this See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period was bestowed upon the worthy presentation of the works of others . He began by producing his dead friend Weber's Euryanthe, with scrupulous See also:

• ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

attention to the composer's See also:

• ORIGINAL

original See also:

• IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea . With equal unselfishness he procured the See also:

• ACCEPTANCE (Lat. acceptare, frequentative form of accipere, to receive)

acceptance of See also:

• RIENZI, COLA DI (c. 1313–1354)

Rienzi and Der fliegende Hollander, the first two operas of See also:

• RICHARD
• RICHARD (d. 1184)
• RICHARD, FRANCOIS MARIE BENJAMIN (18,9-1908)
• RICHARD, HENRY (1812-1888)
• RICHARD, ST

Richard See also:

• WAGNER, ADOLF (1835- )
• WAGNER, RUDOLPH (1805-1864)
• WAGNER, WILHELM RICHARD (1813-1883)

Wagner, who, then languishing in poverty and See also:

• EXILE (Lat. exsilium or exilium, from exsul or exul, which is derived from ex, out of, and the root sal, to go, seen in salire, to leap, consul, &c.; the connexion with solum, soil, country is now generally considered wrong)

exile, would, but for him, have found it impossible to obtain a See also:

• HEARING (formed from the verb " to hear," O. Eng. hyran, heron, &c., a common Teutonic verb; cf. Ger. Koren, Dutch hooren, &c.; the O. Tent. form is seen in Goth. hausjan; the initial h makes any connexion with " ear," Lat. audire, or Gr. &Kobew very doub

hearing in Berlin . With Jenny Lind as prima donna and Meyerbeer as conductor, the opera flourished brilliantly in the Prussian See also:

• CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
• CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

capital; but the anxieties materially shortened the composer's See also:

• LIFE

life . Meyerbeer produced Le Prophete at Paris in 1849 . In 1854 he brought out L'Etoile du See also:

• NORD

nord at the Opera Comique, and in 1859 Le See also:

• PARDON (through the Fr. from Late Lat. perdonare, to remit a debt or other obligation on a penalty)

Pardon de See also:

• FLANNEL

Flannel (Dinorah) . His last See also:

• GREAT

great work, L'Africaine, was in active preparation at the Academie when, on the 23rd of See also:

• APRIL

April 1863, he was seized with a sudden illness, and died on the 2nd of May . L'Africaine was produced with pious attention to the composer's minutest wishes, on the 28th of April 1865 .

Meyerbeer's See also:

• GENIUS (from Lat. genere, gignere)

genius was criticized by contemporaries with widely different results . Mendelssohn thought his style exaggerated; See also:

• FETIS, FRANCOIS JOSEPH (1784–1871)

Fetis thought him one of the most original geniuses of the See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age; Wagner ungratefully calls him " a miserable music-maker," and " a Jewish banker to whom it occurred to compose operas." The reality of his See also:

• TALENT (Lat. talentum, adaptation of Gr. TaXavrov, balance, ! Recollections of a First Visit to the Alps (1841); Vacation Rambles weight, from root raX-, to lift, as in rXi vac, to bear, 1-aXas, and Thoughts, comprising recollections of three Continental

talent has been recognized throughout all See also:

• EUROPE

Europe; and his name will live so long as intensity of See also:

• PASSION (post-classical Lat. passio, formed from pati, passus, to suffer, endure)

passion and See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power of dramatic treatment are regarded as indispensable characteristics of dramatic music . But his work shows that these qualities, with the aid of an experienced See also:

• STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage-writer, may be entirely See also:

• INDEPENDENT

independent of genuine musical insight .