05.09.2019
September 5, 1791 is the birthday of Giacomo Meyerbeer - the major opera composer of the 19th century
Giacomo Meyerbeer was German and French composer, the founder of The Grand French Opera. Heblaid the basic premise of this genre by the opera "Robert le Diable" (Robert the Devil), which he created in 1831. The style of the Meyerbeer’s Grand Opera appeared by merging the German orchestral tradition, bel canto art and French recitation, which were used in the context of the acclaimed melodramatic libretto written by Eugene Scribe and Casimir Delavigne, and complemented by the theatrical traditions of the Paris Opera existing at that time.
Thus, a standard was established, thanks to which Paris was able to maintain its status as the 19th century opera capital.
For the composer's birthday, we have prepared musical selection that was recorded from musical media stored in the Museum Collection musical library. Meyerbeer's biography is in the section AUTHORS.