MUS 353 Chapter Notes - Chapter 17: Die Entführung Aus Dem Serail, Carl Maria Von Weber, Robert Le Diable
Document Summary
French opera of the 19th century divides into two broad categories, each with its own tradition. Grand opera emphasized story lines drawn from historical subjects and typically featured lavishly expensive stage designs, ballets, and large choral numbers. Works written in the tradition of grand opera tend to be long and are almost invariably in five acts. Although always sung in french, they were written by composers from across the continent: the italians rossini and gaspare spontini, the german giacomo meyerbeer, and the french. Meyerbeer was acknowledged as the unrivaled master of the genre. A prot g of rossini, he wrote works that appealed to the public love of spectacle combined with frequent evocations of the supernatural, especially in his most popular work, robert le diable ( robert the devil, 1831) Grand opera was a true institution of the political establishment. Commissions were given as much on the basis of personal contacts as on talent; intrigue was rampant.
