Meyerbeer, Giacomo [ Beer, Jakob Liebmann] (
b Berlin, 1791;
d Paris, 1864). Ger. composer who worked mainly in Paris. After receiving legacy from relative named Meyer converted his name into Meyerbeer, 1810. Child prodigy pianist, playing Mozart conc. in Berlin at age 11. His comic opera was a failure in Vienna, where he was urged by Salieri to study vocal methods in It. He fell under Rossini's spell in 1815 and wrote 6 It. operas between 1817 and 1824, all successful, especially
Il Crociato in Egitto. Weber advised him to turn to Ger. opera, but after the Paris première of
Il Crociato in 1826 he concentrated on Fr. opera, spending the next few years assimilating Fr. history and character. He collaborated with the librettist Scribe and their first opera,
Robert le Diable, in 5 acts and on a grand scale, was an unprecedented success. This was followed by
Les Huguenots and
Le Prophète. He was
Generalmusikdirektor in Berlin 1842–9, during which time he wrote
Ein Feldlager in Schlesien for Jenny
Lind, later incorporating some of its nos. into
L'Étoile du Nord. The success of Meyerbeer's pageant-like operas irked Wagner (who nevertheless learned from them in early works like
Rienzi) and Meyerbeer, born of Jewish parentage, was bitterly attacked in Wagner's pamphlet
Das Judentum in der Musik in spite of the fact that Meyerbeer had assisted him early in his career. He returned to Paris in 1863 to supervise rehearsals of his longest opera,
L'Africaine, on which he had been working for nearly 25 years but he became ill and died. It had been customary to deride Meyerbeer for an eclecticism which lacked sufficient inner conviction to give his operas life beyond their day and away from the spectacular dramatic productions they received in Paris. Revivals of his operas, however, have revealed virtues which were his alone, and, as with so many other figures in mus. history, it would be rash to write him off as forgotten. Prin. works:OPERAS:
Jephtas Gelübde (1812);
Wirth und Gast (1813, rev. 1820 as
Alimelek);
Romilda e Costanza (1817);
Semiramide Riconosciuta (1819);
Emma di Resburgo (1819);
Margherita d'Anjou (1820);
L'esule di Granata (1822);
Il Crociato in Egitto (1824);
Robert le Diable (1831);
Les Huguenots (1836);
Le Prophète (1836–40);
Ein Feldlager in Schlesien (1844, rev. 1847 as
Vielka);
L'Étoile du Nord (1854);
Le Pardon de Ploërmel or
Dinorah (1859);
L'Africaine (1837–64).
Also wrote oratorio, marches, songs, and church mus.
