Les Huguenots

Need to Know

Les Huguenots premiered in 1836 and was the second collaboration between Giacomo Meyerbeer and French librettist Eugène Scribe. The opera was an immediate success and became Meyerbeer’s most important and influential work. By 1880 it had been performed 693 times at the Paris Opéra, not to mention around the world, and is the only Grand Opera to be still performed today.

Giacomo Meyerbeer was a German opera composer of Jewish birth and is best known for giving “GRAND” opera its distinct character. He achieved this by merging the German orchestra style with the Italian vocal tradition.

Meyerbeer’s works enjoyed great acclaim and popularity during his lifetime and composers such as Berlioz, Verdi, and even Wagner were inspired by him. As antisemitism spread through Europe, his works fell out of favor and while Wagner was originally inspired by the great composer, during and after Meyerbeer’s death publicly denounced him.

Most of Meyerbeer’s Operas fell into obscurity during the 20th century, however, Les Huguenots is being performed more today, especially in Europe. Giant casts of leading singers, large chorus and dancers, elaborate sets and costumes, all make producing his grand operas quite expensive.

Interesting Reads: The New Yorker, Opera Wire, History.com (St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre), ThoughtCo

Go Big or Go Home!!!

Most audience today think all opera is “grand”, and frankly, they aren’t wrong! But, Les Huguenots is part of a subcategory of Operas that put the capital “G” in Grand. From Opera Paris, “The origins of French grand opera seem to lie in the realms of lyrical tragedy.” This sub-genre dates back to the Italian composer Jean-Baptiste Lully during the reign of Louis XIV. The genre reemerged around the 1820s with operas like Rossini’s Guillaume Tell and Daniel-Froncois-Esprit Auber’s La Muette de Portici, but a young German composer, Giacomo Meyerbeer would be the one to elevate this genre to its “Grandest” form.

Characteristics of Grand Opera

Four or Five Acts
Large-scale casts and orchestras
Lavish and flamboyant designs of sets, costumes, and special effects
Large Chorus and Ballet
Plots based on dramatic historic events

Synopsis

Overview:

Les Huguenots is based on the St. Bartholomew’s massacre of the Huguenots by the Catholics in 1572 and revolves around related events in Touraine and Paris. Religious strife between Protestants and Catholics drive the plot, but the opera also centers around the love between Raoul, a prominent Huguenot, and Valentine, the daughter of Conte de St Bris who is a leader for the Catholics. Hoping to bring peace between the two factions, Queen Marguerite de Valois hopes a marriage between Raoul and Valentine can be arranged, unfortunately, Valentine is already engaged to another Catholic leader, Count de Never.