Robert le diable
1831
Robert le diable (Robert the Devil) is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831. One of the first grand operas, it caused a sensation when it debuted at the Paris Opera in 1831, not least because of its innovative set design, use of advanced staging, and ballet dancers. It remained a favorite part of opera repertoire throughout the nineteenth century.
Giacomo Meyerbeer’s Robert le diable (Robert the Devil), which debuted in Paris in 1831, was famous for the ballet in its third act, in which nuns arise from the dead and dance seductively amid ruins, as depicted here by Degas. When it was first performed, it was considered scandalous. The opera remained popular throughout the nineteenth century. Degas was an avid opera goer.
Robert le diable (Robert the Devil) is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831. One of the first grand operas, it caused a sensation when it debuted at the Paris Opera in 1831, not least because of its innovative set design, use of advanced staging, and ballet dancers. It remained a favorite part of opera repertoire throughout the nineteenth century.
Credits
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Giacomo Meyerbeer, from Robert le diable (opera), piano reduction by Johann Peter Pixis (Paris: Maurice Schlesinger, n.d.[1831]), Plate M.S. 1157.
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Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK / Bridgeman Images.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 6.
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