Ru
EnZhang Yu
G. Meyerbeer’s “Robert the Devil” reflected in piano compositions on themes from the opera
In the 19th century’s art, musical and theatrical genres played one of the defining roles in the formation of public tastes and interests. Performances of operatic masterpieces by G. Rossini, V. Bellini, G. Donizetti, R. Wagner, G. Verdi provoked a strong reaction from contemporaries, and melodies from their operas quickly spread among amateur musicians in the form of pieces for home performances, or were included in pianists’ concert repertoire as brilliant virtuoso fantasias.
Among the operas of the 19th century that had the greatest influence on the performing arts, one can rightly single out “Robert the Devil” by G. Meyerbeer. Staged in 1831, the opera impressed the audience with the luxury of scenography, rich orchestration and vocal mastery. The melodies from “Robert” became a source of inspiration for many composers who created transcriptions, fantasias and potpourris designed for different levels of performing skills. These works are placed at the centre of examination in the article.
The features of the genre of piano transcriptions have repeatedly attracted the attention of musicologists. In particular, the British musicologist N. Wang offers her own approaches to analysis: “transcriptor as translator”, “transcriptor as creator” and “transcriptor as narrator”. They reflect the peculiarities of the composer’s interaction with someone else’s thematic material: from exact reproduction on the piano (A. Kramer. “A Little Fantasy on a Theme from Robert le Diable”), to more virtuoso fantasias, variations and potpourri (С. Czerny. “Brilliant Variations” Op. 332), to a free interpretation of the musical themes of the opera (T. Döhler. “Fantasy for piano on the theme of favorite motifs of Robert le Diable”, F. Liszt. “Reminiscences de Robert le Diable”).
Key words
opera of the 19th century, fantasias on opera themes, piano transcriptions, G. Meyerbeer, “Robert the Devil”, virtuoso performing art.
For citation
Zhang Yu. G. Meyerbeer’s “Robert the Devil” reflected in piano compositions on themes from the opera // South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2023. No. 3. Pp. 104-113.
