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 251-275 of 356 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edison | 357 | Not documented | approximately Sept.-Oct. 1910 | Figlio mio | Tina De Angelo | Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 400 | 12-in. | approximately Nov. 1910 | O lieto suol! | Lucette Korsoff | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 401 | 12-in. | approximately Nov. 1910 | Ombre légère | Maria Galvany | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 428 | 12-in. | approximately Nov. 1910 | Sei vendicati assai | Giuseppe Kaschmann | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 711 | Not documented | approximately July 1911 | O Paradis | Emil Borgmann | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 774 | 10-in. | approximately July 1911 | Figlia dei re | Oreste Benedetti | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 1006 | 10-in. | approximately Apr. 1912 | Sei vindicate assai | Giovanni Polese | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 1126 | 10-in. | July 1912 | Ah! Mon fils | Marie Delna | Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 1139 | 12-in. | July 1912 | Arie der Königen : Oglucklich Hand | Melitta Heim | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 1376 | 10-in. | Jan. 1913 | O paradiso | Giuseppe Anselmi | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 1411 | 10-in. | Mar. 1913 | O paradies | Heinrich Hensel | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 1426 | 10-in. | July 1913 | O Paradis | Jacques Urlus | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 2015 | 10-in. | Nov. 1912 | O Robert beloved | Elizabeth Spencer | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 2019 | 10-in. | 11/18/1912 | O paradise | Charles Harrison | Tenor vocal solo, with orchstra | composer | |
Edison | 2073 | 10-in. | 12/30/1912 | Noble knights, I hail you | Elizabeth Spencer | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 2120 | 10-in. | 1/31/1913 | Ah! Mon fils | Christine Miller | Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 2126 | 10-in. | 2/5/1913 | Nobil signori salute | Eleanora de Cisneros | Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 2196 | 10-in. | 3/24/1913 | Oh Robert, Robert beloved | Elizabeth Spencer | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 2231 | 10-in. | Apr. 1913 | Ah! Mon fils | Mary Adele Case | Mezzo-soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 2339 | 10-in. | between 6/18/1913 and 6/20/1913 | Ah! Mon fils | Female vocalist (unidentified; Edison Records) | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 2371 | 10-in. | between 7/15/1913 and 7/17/1913 | Figlio mio | Artists vary | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 2372 | 10-in. | between 7/15/1913 and 7/17/1913 | Ah! My son | Female vocalist (unidentified; Edison Records) | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 2518 | 10-in. | between 10/23/1913 and 10/27/1913 | Benediction of the Poignards | Edison Concert Band | Band | composer | |
Edison | 2547 | 10-in. | 11/10/1913 | Fantasia | Edison Concert Band | Concert band | composer | |
Edison | 2549 | 10-in. | 11/10/1913 | Fantasia | Edison Concert Band | Concert band | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Meyerbeer, Giacomo," accessed April 30, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102619.
Meyerbeer, Giacomo. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 30, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102619.
"Meyerbeer, Giacomo." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 30 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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