Loge's Hidden Operatic Gems

"La Juive" was premiered in 1835, one of the first Grand Opéra ever to be staged. Jacques Fromental's father was from Bavaria, but he was born in Paris, in 1799, and he used the surname Lévy until 1807, when the family changed it to Halévy. One year before that, Jacques was accepted in the Conservatory of Paris, when he was a student of Cherubini, among others. At only 17 years old, we won Roma Second Prize, and at 19, the First Prize. However, his bureaucratic career was even more distinguished than his musical efforts. At 35 years old he was a teacher of counterpoint, and a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. However his nine operas have not been succesful. Today we are familiar only with "Clari" (premiered by Maria Malibran in 1828), in the recording by Cecilia Bartoli.
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Meyerbeer was the king of French opera during several decades back in the 19th century. Robert le Diable is considered by many the first Grand Opéra, the one that really put this genre on their legs.

In fourteen stages we will covering together:

1.- A Belcanto great, and the inventor of Grand Opéra. This Meyerbeer was for real.
2.- Myth and historical truth about Robert, le Diable. (the real person).
3.- The libretto
4.- The plot
5.- What was so new about this opera, anyway?
6.- Performers and discography
7.- The ballet.
8.- Mario's aria
9.- “Robert” pay a visit
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This is an English translation of the original post published by member Loge in the Spanish Area.

PROLOGUE

Zarzuela is basically the Spanish brand of musical theater. There is singing, and there are spoken dialogues, nothing is predefined about the respective duration of each part. There are zarzuelas with a lot of dialogues, and little singing. But also some others where singing represents 80% or more of the total.
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