Meyerbeer, Giacomo (1791-1864), was one of the most popular opera composers of his day. He was born on Sept. 5, 1791, in Berlin, but achieved his greatest success while composing in Paris. Meyerbeer had an acute sense for building stunning climaxes and for creating spectacular effects. Richard Wagner‘s early operas owe much to the influence of Meyerbeer’s music.
The trend in French opera during the 1830’s and 1840’s was toward grand opera, which emphasized many performers on stage and impressive stage effects. Meyerbeer used this stress on the spectacular in his first Paris opera, Robert-le-Diable (1831), which gained him immediate fame. This work was followed by Les Huguenots (1836) and Le Prophete (1849). L’Africaine, perhaps his most interesting opera, was first performed in 1865, after his death. Meyerbeer died on May 2, 1864.
