Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera Robert le diable and its successors, he gave the genre of grand opera 'decisive character'. Meyerbeer's grand opera style was achieved by his merging of German orchestra style with Italian vocal tradition. These were employed in the context of sensational and melodramatic libretti created by Eugène Scribe and were enhanced by the up-to-date theatre technology of the Paris Opéra. They set a standard which helped to maintain Paris as the opera capital of the nineteenth century. Born to a wealthy Jewish family, Meyerbeer began his musical career as a pianist but soon decided to devote himself to opera, spending several years in Italy studying and composing. His 1824 opera Il crociato in Egitto was the first to bring him Europe-wide reputation, but it was Robert le diable (1831) which raised his status to great celebrity. His public career, lasting from then until his death, during which he remained a dominating figure in the world of opera, was summarized by his contemporary Hector Berlioz, who claimed that he 'has not only the luck to be talented, but the talent to be lucky.' He was at his peak with his operas Les Huguenots (1836) and Le prophète (1849); his last opera (L'Africaine) was performed posthumously. His operas made him the most frequently performed composer at the world's leading opera houses in the nineteenth century. At the same time as his successes in Paris, Meyerbeer, as a Prussian Court Kapellmeister (Director of Music) from 1832, and from 1843 as Prussian General Music Director, was also influential in opera in Berlin and throughout Germany. He was an early supporter of Richard Wagner, enabling the first production of the latter's opera Rienzi. He was commissioned to write the patriotic opera Ein Feldlager in Schlesien to celebrate the reopening of the Berlin Royal Opera House in 1844, and he wrote music for certain Prussian state occasions. Apart from around 50 songs, Meyerbeer wrote little except for the stage. The critical assaults of Wagner and his supporters, especially after Meyerbeer's death, led to a decline in the popularity of his works; his operas were suppressed by the Nazi regime in Germany, and were neglected by opera houses through most of the twentieth century. In the 21st century, however, the composer's major French grand operas have begun to reappear in the repertory of numerous European opera houses. |
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 226-250 of 356 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brunswick | X9501 | 12-in. | approximately Dec. 1922 | Benediction of the swords | Vessella's Italian Band | Band | composer | |
Brunswick | 9601 | 10-in. | approximately Jan. 1923 | O paradiso! | Mario Chamlee | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | X9805-X9806 | 12-in. | approximately Feb. 1923 | Ah mon fils! | Sigrid Onégin | Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | 10407-10409 | 10-in. | 4/19/1923 | Sei vendicata assai | Michael Bohnen | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | 10482-10483 | 10-in. | 4/26/1923 | Sei vendicata assai | Michael Bohnen | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | 10495-10497 | 10-in. | 4/27/1923 | Invocation | Michael Bohnen | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | 12451-12452 | 10-in. | 2/1/1924 | Sei vendicata assai | Michael Bohnen | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | X14944-X14945 | 12-in. | 2/20/1925 | Figlia di Reji | Friedrich Schorr | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | E27288 | 10-in. | 4/5/1928 | Donnez, donnez | Karin Branzell | Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | XE27545 | 12-in. | 5/12/1928 | Addio terra nativa (Recitative and romance) | Vincent C. Buono ; Salvatore Minichini's Italian Royal Marine Band | Band, with cornet | composer | |
Brunswick | XE27546 | 12-in. | 5/12/1928 | Di te piu’ bella imagine (Duet and finale) | Salvatore Minichini's Italian Royal Marine Band | Band | composer | |
Brunswick | XE27943 | 12-in. | 8/1/1928 | Ah! Mon fils | Kathryn Meisle | Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | E18176-E18178 | 10-in. | 3/3/1926 | O paradiso! | Mario Chamlee | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | XE18336-XE18337 | 12-in. | 3/10/1926 | Ah, mon fils! | Sigrid Onégin | Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | E22392-E22394 | 10-in. | 4/12/1927 | Sei vendicata assai | Michael Bohnen | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Brunswick | 1283bm | 12-in. | 1928 | Coronation march | Philharmonic Orchestra of Berlin, The ; Julius Prüwer | Orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 116 | Not documented | between 3/15/1910 and 3/19/1910 | Ah! Mon fils | Marie Delna | Contralto vocal solo with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 135 | Not documented | between 4/14/1910 and 4/15/1910 | O paradiso | Florencio Constantino | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 210 | Not documented | approximately July 1910 | Adamastor, re dell' onde profonde | Oreste Benedetti | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 219 | Not documented | approximately July 1910 | Cavatina | Carolina White | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 262 | 12-in. | approximately Aug. 1910 | Nobil signori, saluta | Eleanora de Cisneros | Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 279 | 12-in. | approximately Sept. 1910 | O toi qui m'abandones | Eleanora de Cisneros | Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 283 | 12-in. | approximately Sept. 1910 | Bianca al par | Leo Slezak | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 284 | 12-in. | approximately Sept. 1910 | Ah! Mon fils | Eleanora de Cisneros | Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 304 | Not documented | approximately Sept. 1910 | Piff, paff, piff, paff | Luigi Lucenti | Bass vocal solo, with orchestra | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Meyerbeer, Giacomo," accessed April 17, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102619.
Meyerbeer, Giacomo. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 17, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102619.
"Meyerbeer, Giacomo." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 17 April 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Giacomo Meyerbeer
Discogs: Giacomo Meyerbeer
Allmusic: Giacomo Meyerbeer
Grove: Giacomo Meyerbeer
IMSLP: Giacomo Meyerbeer
RILM: Giacomo Meyerbeer
RISM: Giacomo Meyerbeer
IMDb: Giacomo Meyerbeer
Britannica: Giacomo Meyerbeer
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Meyerbeer, Giacomo, 1791-1864 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79140961
Wikidata: Giacomo Meyerbeer - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q105237
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/71578779
MusicBrainz: Giacomo Meyerbeer - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e2e5fec1-d87b-4b48-81b1-7e9ab074f348
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