ABSTRACT
Robert le diable was perhaps the greatest operatic success of the early nineteenth century. Its 1831 première catapulted its composer not only to the centre of Parisian musical and theatrical culture but also to those of every European stage. Meyerbeer immediately found himself at the head of what Paris saw as the German School, and secured the coveted position as Weber's successor. Meyerbeer was affected by the work's success both publicly and privately. Letters of congratulation survive from the civil servant Edmond Blanc, from the editor Jacques Coste, and from Henri Berton. Musical responses to Robert le diable were more conventional than has been made out. Arrangements of individual numbers, sets of variations and pot-pourris were forthcoming, but not in substantially larger numbers than for many other contemporary works.
