Le prophète (The Prophet) is an opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The French-language libretto was by Eugène Scribe.
The opera was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique, Paris on 16 April 1849. The creators of the three main roles were Anaïs Castellan as Berthe, Pauline Viardot as Fidés, and Gustave Roger as Jean. The second city to hear it was London, on 24 July of the same year. It was given all over Germany in 1...
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Le prophète (The Prophet) is an opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The French-language libretto was by Eugène Scribe.
The opera was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique, Paris on 16 April 1849. The creators of the three main roles were Anaïs Castellan as Berthe, Pauline Viardot as Fidés, and Gustave Roger as Jean. The second city to hear it was London, on 24 July of the same year. It was given all over Germany in 1850, as well as in Vienna, Lisbon, Antwerp, New Orleans, Budapest, Brussels, Prague and Basel. Its tremendous success continued throughout the 19th century.
The opera is set in the religious wars of 16th century Germany. Jean de Leyde (based on the historical John of Leyden), whose beloved, Berthe, is coveted by Count Oberthal, ruler of Dordrecht, is persuaded by a trio of sinister Anabaptists to proclaim himself king in Münster. He dies, accompanied by his faithful mother Fides, when the Anabaptists desert him and his palace is blown up....
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