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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.

Birth and Death Data: Born 1791 (Tasdorf), Died January 1, 1864 (Paris)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1897 - 1940

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 126-150 of 356 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor CS-047780 12-in. 3/7/1940 Shadow song, part 2 Andre Kostelanetz ; Lily Pons Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor [Trial 1913-04-28-06] Not documented 4/28/1913 Ah mon fils Mary Adele Case Female vocal solo composer  
Victor [Trial 1915-05-05-01] Not documented 5/5/1915 Shadow song Mrs. C. R. Smith Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor [Trial 1917-02-09-01] Not documented 2/9/1917 O paradiso Giulio Crimi Male vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor [Trial 1925-01-28-01] 10-in. 1/28/1925 O paradiso Armand Tokatyan Tenor vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 180 7-in. ca. 1901 Fackeltanz Columbia Band Band composer  
Columbia 180 10-in. ca. 1901-Sept. 1902 Fackeltanz Columbia Band Band composer  
Columbia 239 7-in. ca. 1901 Coronation march Columbia Band Band composer  
Columbia 239 10-in. ca. 1901 Coronation march Columbia Band Band composer  
Columbia 367 7-in. ca. 1901 Robert, toi que j'aime Columbia Band Band, with cornet solo composer  
Columbia 367 10-in. ca. 1901-Sept. 1902 Robert, toi que j'aime Columbia Band Band, with cornet solo composer  
Columbia 477 7-in. ca. 1901-Oct. 1905 Les huguenots : Selection Columbia Band Band composer  
Columbia 477 10-in. ca. 1901 The Huguenots : Selections Columbia Band Band composer  
Columbia 1230 7-in. ca. 1903-Oct. 1905 Les Huguenots : Soprano aria Jeanne Ferenczy Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 1230 10-in. ca. 1903 Les Huguenots : Soprano aria Jeanne Ferenczy Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 1378 10-in. ca. 1903 Le prophète : Arioso Ernestine Schumann-Heink Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 1445 10-in. ca. 1903 All' erta, mariner Giuseppe Campanari Baritone vocal solo, unaccompanied composer  
Columbia 1501 7-in. ca. 1903 Sei vendicata assai Alberto De Bassini Baritone vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 1501 10-in. ca. 1903 Sei vendicata assai Alberto De Bassini Baritone vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 1570 7-in. ca. 1903-Oct. 1905 Adamastor, re dell' acqua profonde Alberto De Bassini Baritone vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 1570 10-in. ca. 1903 Adamastor, re dell' acqua profonde Alberto De Bassini Baritone vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 1581 7-in. ca. 1903-Oct. 1905 Dell'or, dell'or Alberto De Bassini Baritone vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 1581 10-in. ca. 1903 Dell'or, dell'or Alberto De Bassini Baritone vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 4078 10-in. ca. Jan.-June 1909 Ombra leggiera Camille Borello Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 4145 10-in. ca. May-June 1909 Sei vendicata assai Giuseppe Pimazoni Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
(Results 126-150 of 356 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Meyerbeer, Giacomo," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102619.

Meyerbeer, Giacomo. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102619.

"Meyerbeer, Giacomo." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102619

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