Finally, in the post war period, the French had less interest in reexamining their 19th century musical culture than the Italians, as is shown by the fact that far fewer "forgotten rarities" were revived in France than in Italy. This may partially be due to the fact that they did not really regard Meyerbeer as one of their own, while the Germans were apparently too influenced by their reverence for Wagner.

The fact that many of these so-called arguments don't really hold water is beside the point. They were still used, and could only be refuted by the few people who had ignored the musical establishment, and investigated Meyerbeer and his contmeporaries on their own.

Under the circumstances it is not surprising that these works are still out of favor today with any number of prominent musicologists, as is shown by an interesting statement made by Julian Budden, in his The Operas of Verdi from Oberto to Rigoletto:

"The musical pillars of the new establishment were Auber, Meyerbeer and Halévy, at whose hands grand opera achieved a complexity and scale undreamed of before. Schumann and Mendelssohn might sneer; yet, so long as one does not mistake Meyerbeer and his colleagues for great composers (and many Frenchmen at the time did so mistake them), there is no harm in admitting that Parisian grand opera was a stimulating influence all over Europe, and that it played an important part in the genesis of Wagnerian music-drama...."

In one sense, this is a rather odd statement for Budden to make, since the three composers he talks about were just as highly esteemed, perhaps even more so, in other European countries, certainly including Germany and his native Great Britain as they were in France. This was particularly true of London, where the press gave the local premiere of L'Etoile du Nord twice as much space as that of Il trovatore, indicating the respective standings of the two composers in the public taste of the 1850s.

It is also interesting to note that the highest praise that Budden can bestow on them is the part that they played in the genesis of Wagnerian music drama..., rather than provide a discussion of the myriads of beauties that they have to offer. Now that so much of Meyerbeer is at least available on records, should we not look on him in terms of his own achievements, which include the composition of some of the most effective dramatic music in all of opera?

Unfortunately, most professors in musical conservatories, and most teachers of Music Appreciation tended to repeat what they read. And impressionable young people tended to believe them. And, as stated above, did not have the needed ammunition to prove otherwise.

But now, we do, so, at the risk of being accused of making the same "mistake" that Budden claimed that many Frenchmen made 150 years ago, let me say here and now that all three were great composers. What else would you call composers whose works had the degree of beauty, effectiveness, and achieved the same popularity as many of their operas? Let's look at a few works for which performance totals in Paris, at either the Opéra or the Opéra Comique are available.

Le Domino Noir 1209, Les Huguenots 1120, Fra Diavolo 909, Robert le Diable 751, Le prophète 573, La juive 562 Le maçon 525, Haydée 499, La muette de Portici 489, L'africaine 484, Gustave III 168, La reine de Chypre 152

Compare these to 39 for Les Troyens and three for Benvenuto Cellini by 1956

Two of these successes (Le maçon, and La Reine de Chypre) are yet to be revived in the post-war period, so it is not possible to comment on them, except to express the hope that they be performed in the near future. But, how many of us who know the fourth act of Les Huguenots, with its Conjuration scene and final duet, the two arias of Bertram in Act III, and the grand duet (especially Isabelle's "Robert, toi que j'adore") in Act IV of Robert le Diable, the Coronation scene, Fidés' monologue or her duet with her son in Le Prophète, and finally the duet between Eléazar and the Cardinal or the ensuing grand aria for Eléazar would want to be without them?

Fortunately, the tide seems to be turning, and the last few years seem to have marked what appears to be the beginning of a renewal of interest in these composers, both in performance and recordings. A few examples will suffice:

Ricordi is planning a critical edition of the operas of Meyerbeer.

? Vienna has revived Le prophète starring Agnes Balsta and Placido Domingo .

? Wexford did an almost uncut L'Etoile du Nord in 1996, which has been released by Marco Polo a few years ago.

? Legato has recently reissued the Vienna Juive (starring Carreras, Merritt and Siepi), and the Paris Robert le Diable.

? London Records is planning a Dinorah with Sumi Jo, conducted by Richard Bonynge, and there are rumours that another Auber work is under consideration.

? Auber's Manon Lescaut, Domino Noir and Gustave III were performed in France and issued on CD during the 1990s. Diamans de la Couronne and Haydée have also been performed in Compiègne. The former is now available on CD, and the latter will shortly be released on DVD.

Opera Rara has released a super-complete version of Il crociato in EgittoWhile it is not a French work, and is heavily influenced by Rossini, this is also a spectacularily beautiful opera, with such outstanding numbers as the trio "Giovinotto cavalier", Palmide's aria "D'una madre disperata" and Adriano's "Suona funereo" in the second act. They have also issued Margherita d'Anjou and extended excerpts from L'esule di Granata.

Halevy's La juive was performed in Vienna with great success in late 1999 and into the 21st century. A review can be found elsewhere on this site: Review of the Vienna Juive by Claire Butler. It has since been given at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and has been announced for Paris and other places.

Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable was just as successful in Berlin in March 2000. It was also given in Prague and Martina Franca. The latter is available on CD.

Halévy's Charles VI has been revived in Compiégne, and a recording on CD is forthcoming.

Certainly the above is enough of an indication that brief biographies and fairly exhaustive discographies for each of these composers are now appropriate. These can be found on the pages for the individual composers as follows:

Auber

Halévy

Meyerbeer

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