It was at Padua, July 10, 1818, that he gave his first Italian opera, Romilda e Costanza, the principal rôle of which was written for Pisaroni, one of the most illustrious cantatrices of that period. From the very first performance the opera was a great success, and he immediately wrote another work, Semiramide riconosciuta, on an ancient poem of Métastasio, which he brought out at the Royal Theatre at Turin in 1819. The following year he gave to the San Benedetto Theatre of Venice, his third opera, Emma di Resburgo, which met with enthusiastic success at a moment when, on this very stage, Rossini had just triumphed with his Edouardo e Christina. This work fully established his reputation in Italy, all the great cities esteemed it an honor to present him to their public, and everywhere he obtained the most complete success. This was not all. The Germans themselves, who made a point of disparaging Italian music, made two translations of this opera; one of them, Emma von Leicester, was played at Vienna, Dresden, Munich and Frankfort; the other, Emma von Roxburg, was performed at Berlin and Stuttgart. It may be well to recall here that the subject of this work was borrowed from the French opera Héléna, by Méhul.
This colossal success opened to Meyerbeer the doors of the largest theatres of Italy. The first of them all, the Scala of Milan, immediately ordered a great work of him. It was Margherita d'Angiù, which was performed at this theatre Nov. 14, 1820, where it was sung by Tacchinardi, Levasseur and Rosa Mariani. Here, again, the success was complete, and Margherita d'Angiù, almost immediately translated and performed in Germany, was afterwards translated into French for representation at the Odéon. On March 12, 1822, Meyerbeer gave to the Scala theatre the opera l'Esule di Granata, the first rôles of which were confided to the tenor Winter, to Lablache, to Mmes. Pisaroni, Adelaide Tosi and Carolina Bassi. But the last triumphs of the composer had excited envy; jealousy awoke on every side, and a cabal was organized for the purpose of crushing this new work. The first act indeed fell flat, thanks to this cabal, and the second seemed doomed to the same fate, when a beautiful duo, admirably sung by Lablache and Pisaroni came just in time to save all, and change into a triumph the fall which had appeared inevitable.
After this new success, Meyerbeer's health failed him. He had gone to Rome, where he was to bring out an opera in two acts entitled Almanzor. He had begun to write the score, when the state of his health obliged him to stop work and seek absolute rest. As soon as he was able he went to Germany, where he passed the whole of the year 1823, now at Berlin, now at some watering place. In the course of this year he wrote a German opera, The Brandeburg Gate, which was intended for the Königstadt theatre, but which, it is not known why, was never performed. He then returned to Italy, where awaited him the last and greatest triumphs in that country.
It is here that this second phase of Meyerbeer's remarkably active and productive career will come to a close. We may be sure that he had already felt a desire to work for the French stage, whither the very nature of his powerful and profoundly dramatic genius seemed to call him. We are now to see him direct his efforts towards this end, preparing himself for the change by his last Italian work, written in a more elevated, loftier strain than the preceding ones, and which seemed to indicate on his part a fixed determination to create another distinct manner. In order to attain this third and last manner, ingrafted, as it were, on the two preceding ones, it was necessary for him to adopt a method analogous to the one which he had used on arriving in Italy. Just as he had to abandon, on touching foot to Italian soil, everything in his style which might appear too scholastic, heavy and formal, so, in going to France, he was obliged to lay aside the affected elegance, frivolous grace and superficial language of the Italian forms. He endeavored to retain and combine the best elements in the various schools,—to unite the melodic sentiment of Italy to the harmonic richness of Germany, and to join to these the picturesque coloring, the passionate ardor, and above all the sense of dramatic truth which are the characteristic qualities of the French musical school. It was then, after he had transformed his style by this fusion of three different but not antagonistic elements, the union of which must form a harmonious and well balanced whole, after he had become master both of his thought and of the idea which should clothe it, it was then that he found himself in full possession of himself and of his genius and that he became the great man whose name was universally known and whose works everywhere challenged admiration.
The great work of transition with which Meyerbeer was to crown his brilliant career in Italy and prepare his future triumphs on the French stage, was called il Crociato Egitto. This opera, conceived in a broad and severe style, plainly showed the new preoccupations of his mind and gave a glimpse of his approaching evolution. The distinct individuality of the composer showed itself in this remarkable score, in which it was easy to see his inclination for energetic and vigorous expression of the grand dramatic situations. Il Crociato, brought out at the Fenice theatre, Venice, Dec. 26, 1824, had for its principal interpreters Mme. Mérie-Lalande, Lablache and Velluti. Its success was immense, and it soon made the tour of all Italy. This success was so great as to move Paris, and the duke of Rochefoucauld, then superintendent of the royal theatres, immediately arranged to have il Crociato played at the Thèâtre Italien. He wrote to the composer, inviting him to come and supervise the staging of his opera and direct the rehearsals. The rôles were given to Danzelli, Levasseur, Mmes. Pasta, Monbelli, Schiasetti and Giovanola. This was the first of Meyerbeer's works performed at Paris, and its success was as great as in Italy.
GIACOMO MEYERBEER.
From woodcut in "L'Univers Illustré," Paris.
Henceforth Meyerbeer was to belong entirely to France. After having seen his Crociato played at the Italien, he had the satisfaction of seeing his Margherita d'Angiù translated into French and performed successfully at the Odéon. It was to this last fact that he owed the speedy gratification of his desire to work for the musical stages of France, although, owing to an unexpected series of events, he was obliged to await for several years the representation of his first work, and this work, written with the Opéra Comique in view, had to be completely transformed and adapted for the Opéra. This is the way it happened.
The subject of the Italian opera of Margherita d'Angiù had been taken from a French drama, Marguérite d'Anjou, played in 1810 at the Gaité theatre, and the author of which was Guilbert de Pièxèrcourt. The two very naturally made each other's acquaintance, Pièxèrcourt's authorization being necessary for the representation on a French stage of a foreign opera whose subject belonged to him. An intimacy sprung up between them, and Meyerbeer profited by it to ask Pièxèrcourt for a poem to set to music for the Opéra Comique. The latter willingly consented, confided to him Robert le Diable, by Scribe, and the composer immediately set to work. The rôles of Robert le Diable were to be distributed as follows: Ponchard (Robert), Huet (Bertram), Mme. Boulanger (Alice) and Mme. Rigaud (Isabella). Obliged in the meantime to make a trip to Berlin, Meyerbeer took the poem with him, in order to continue the work during his absence. But while he was in Germany a little revolution took place at the Opéra Comique which resulted in Guilbert de Pièxèrcourt being dispossessed of his office of director. What happened then? All the particulars are not known, but Robert was withdrawn from the Opéra Comique, Scribe enlarged and transformed his poem, Meyerbeer rewrote his score, and the work was carried to the Opéra. It is easy to understand that all this occasioned a long delay. But this was not all. The revolution of 1830 occurred, which brought everything to a standstill, and which, after the change of dynasty at the head of the country, brought about a change in the management of the Opéra, where Lubbert was replaced by the famous Dr. Véron. The latter hesitated a good deal about mounting so important a work by a composer as yet little known in France, although he had achieved great success elsewhere. He finally decided in its favor, however, the rôles were distributed to Nourrir, Levasseur, Mmes. Dorus-Gras and Cinti-Damoreau, and Robert le Diable was finally performed Nov. 22, 1831.