MEYERBEER, GIACOMO

MEYERBEER, GIACOMO (Jacob Liebmann-Beer; 1791–1864), German composer, remembered mainly for his spectacular operas. Meyerbeer was born in Berlin, where his father Jacob Herz Beer was a prominent banker; his brothers were wilhelm beer and michael beer . His musical gifts appeared early, and his grandfather Liebman Meyer Wulf was so impressed with the boy's genius that he made him his sole heir on condition that he added "Meyer" to his name. After studying with the composer Clementi, he went to live and work with the Abbé Vogler in Darmstadt. There he composed his first opera, Jephthas Geluebde, which was performed at Munich in 1813 with moderate success. His next dramatic work, Die beiden Kalifen, was a failure when produced in Vienna in 1814. Discouraged, Meyerbeer went to Italy. Between 1818 and 1824 he composed a series of successful Italian operas, among the most popular being Romilda e Costanza, Semiramide riconosciuta, Emma di Resburgo, and Il crociato in Egitto. His change of name from Jacob to Giacomo symbolized his "conversion" to the new Italian style. In 1826, Meyerbeer was invited to the first performance of Il crociato in Paris. Its favorable reception led to his later career as a composer of French grand opera. His first in a series of brilliant successes in this genre, Robert le Diable, was produced in 1831, and within a year it was being presented in many European cities. Meyerbeer, aided by his librettist Eugène Scribe, gave the public what it wanted: a sensational story, novel stage effects, showy singing, and colorful orchestration. This formula was repeated many times, most notably in Les Huguenots (1836), Le Prophète (1843), and L'Africaine (Vasco da Gama; 1838–64), first produced in French and English a year after the composer's death. While vigorously promoting his own career, Meyerbeer was always ready to help other composers. For example, he warmly recommended Wagner's Rienzi for production in Dresden, and during his period as royal director of opera in Berlin (1842–47) he introduced the Flying Dutchman to the repertoire there. Wagner, however, violently attacked the music and personality of his one-time friend. Meyerbeer remained faithful to Judaism. Meyerbeer's popularity continued for some years after his death – in 1895 Le Prophète attained its 150th performance in London – but his reputation declined in the 20th century. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: M. Cooper, Fanfare for Ernest Newman (1959), 38–57; W.L. Crosten, French Grand Opera: An Art and a Business (1948), passim; H. Becker, Der Fall Heine-Meyerbeer (1958); B. Van Dieren, Down Among the Dead Men (1935), 142–74; Giacomo Meyerbeer, 1791–1864, exposition… (Fr. and Heb., Jerusalem, Jewish National Library, 1964); Istel, in: Musical Quarterly, 12 (1926), 72–109; J. Kapp, Meyerbeer (1920); A. Hervey, Giacomo Meyerbeer (1913); MGG, S.V.; G. Meyerbeer, Briefwechsel und Tagebuecher, ed. by H. Becker, 2 vols. (1960–70). (Dika Newlin)