G. Meyerbeer, Autograph manuscript of part of "Robert le Diable", with the printed score given to Nourrit, c.1831

MEYERBEER, GIACOMO

Autograph manuscript of part of Robert le Diable, together with the vocal score presented to the tenor Adolphe Nourrit, c.1831

a working draft of the chorus section of no.21 from Act V, different from the published score, notated in brown ink on varying systems, the heading "5.^eacte Robert le Diable" in another hand, some bars with only text, 4 pages, folio (c.31 x 23cm), 14-stave "Lard" paper, no place or date, 1831 or later, horizontal and vertical folds, light browning, tiny tear to lower margin of first leaf; together with:--Robert le Diable [vocal score], Paris: Schlesinger, [1831], first edition inscribed to the singer Adolphe Nourrit ("À son ami Adolph Nourrit, le sublime interprète de Robert-Le Diable...offert par l'auteur"), by the publisher, with performance markings and vocal embellishments, 407 pages, folio (c.35 x 26cm), engraved music, rebacked retaining publisher's boards, browning and light spotting to margins, worn

Robert le Diable, premiered at the Paris Opéra on 21 November 1831, was Meyerbeer's first grand opera, and as such a seminal work in the history of nineteenth century dramatic music. The present manuscript transmits a variant text for part of no.21 from Act V, one which diverges from the vocal score of 1831. In this variant several passages are cut, and it is of interest that these cuts are also indicated in the heavily marked up vocal score included here, a presentation score for Adolphe Nourrit, who created the role of Robert in the opera.