{"id":2843,"date":"2018-09-05T16:32:35","date_gmt":"2018-09-05T16:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ripm.org\/cnc\/?p=2843"},"modified":"2018-09-07T14:18:38","modified_gmt":"2018-09-07T14:18:38","slug":"happy-birthday-meyerbeer-a-satirical-ripm-play-in-one-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnc.ripm.org\/?p=2843","title":{"rendered":"Happy Birthday Meyerbeer! 
A Satirical RIPM Play in One Scene"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our scene opens with the <\/em>PROFESSOR beginning one of his tri-weekly music history lectures.\u00a0 It is early September, and morale is high.\u00a0 The<\/em> STUDENTS,<\/em> miraculously, are all on time. <\/em><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR leans casually alongside the right of his podium.<\/em><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n“Class, this week marks the 227th<\/sup> anniversary of the birth of
\nGiacomo Meyerbeer, one of the most celebrated and
\nimportant composers of opera in the nineteenth century.”<\/p>\n

The majority of the students immediately raise their hands, all to ask the same question.<\/em> PROFESSOR motions to one of the students<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n“Yes?”<\/p>\n

STUDENT ONE
\n“Professor, who is Giacomo Meyerbeer”<\/p>\n

PROFESSOR, freezes, his face expressing incredulity.<\/em><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n“What?!”<\/p>\n

STUDENT ONE
\n“Huh?”<\/p>\n

PROFESSOR regains his composure, and asks\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n“Who here has heard of the name Giacomo Meyerbeer?”<\/p>\n

The hall is silent. This time, no hands are raised.<\/em> PROFESSOR, with a coy half-grin, senses a singular opportunity for a pedagogical moment of hallmark importance.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n“Well, instead of telling you about him,
\nwhy don\u2019t I show you using RIPM.”<\/p>\n

STUDENTS look confused.<\/em><\/p>\n

STUDENTS
\n(together)
\n\u201cRIPM? What\u2019s RIPM?\u201d<\/p>\n

PROFESSOR smiles as he presses “start” on his computer and projector.<\/em><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n\u201cRIPM provides access online to rare, primary
\nsource music periodicals and a view of musical life
\nas seen by those who lived it for more than 200 years,
\nfrom Bach to Bernstein. As written in RIPM’s promotional
\nmaterials, its databases offer access to over 300 music
\njournals and\u00a0more than 1,100,000 full-text pages. Just
\nimagine the immense possibilities for original research.\u201d<\/p>\n

STUDENTS are wide-eyed and extremely impressed.\u00a0 One calls out.<\/em><\/p>\n

STUDENT TWO
\n\u201cSo, how does this RIPM thing work, and
\nwhat’s Meyerbeer have to do with it?\u201d<\/p>\n

PROFESSOR smiles, opens for display RIPM’s databases, and enters Meyerbeer in the keyword search field.<\/em><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n“Expect to be overwhelmed with the results. For, as you can see,
\nthere are\u00a09,763 annotated records in RIPM\u00a0with Full Text, and,
\nover 24,426 references to the composer in the RIPM European and
\nNorth American Music Periodicals. In fact, Meyerbeer was so popular
\nthat his\u00a0opera Les Huguenots <\/em>(1836) was the first opera ever to
\nbe performed at the Paris Op\u00e9ra more than 1,000 times.”<\/p>\n

STUDENTS
\n(collectively)
\n“Good grief! What are we suppose to do with all of this!”<\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n\u201cThe magic phrase here is: B O O L E A N operators!
\nBe prepared to define it in your next exam. With boolean,
\nyou can easily refine your search results. Now, let’s take an
\nexample, and look for illustrations of the composer.”<\/p>\n

“First, we\u2019ll access RIPM with Full Text.
\nThen, select Advanced Search.
\nIn the Keyword(s) Field, enter \u201cMeyerbeer.\u201d
\nIn the Type field, select \u201cIllustration.\u201d<\/p>\n

PROFESSOR clicks \u201cSearch\u201d and glances up at the lecture hall.<\/em><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n“As you see, in RIPM with Full Text alone,
\nthere are 28 illustrations of Meyerbeer.”<\/p>\n

STUDENT THREE
\n(calling out)
\n\u201cYou mean, RIPM does all this work for us?\u201d<\/p>\n

PROFESSOR smiles and nods knowingly.<\/em><\/p>\n

STUDENT THREE high-fives student next to him.\u00a0<\/em> PROFESSOR notes that two students, previously dozing off, suddenly wake up.<\/em><\/p>\n

STUDENT FOUR
\n“You mean, I could search for “Meyerbeer
\nand Verdi, or Meyerbeer and Wagner?”<\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n“Yes; your searches are only limited by your imagination.”<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, returning to our initial Meyerbeer illustrations search,
\nlet’s click on the first record, which brings up a lovely lithograph
\nof Meyerbeer published in 1825 in The Harmonicon<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"The Harmonicon,\u00a0<\/em>Vol. 3 No. 31 (July 1825): [1p] 118\/119.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *<\/span><\/p>\n

STUDENTS
\n(together, stunned)
\n\u201cOooooooooo!\u201d<\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n\u201cClicking on the next citation reveals another lithograph, this one
\npublished in 1836 in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung<\/em><\/a>, one of the
\nmost influential German music journal of the early nineteenth century.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung,<\/span><\/em>Vol. 37 supplementary page(s) (January 1836): [1] 872\/1. <\/span><\/p>\n

*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *<\/span><\/p>\n

STUDENTS
\n(together, with surprise)
\n\u201cWow!\u201d<\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n\u201cThe next illustration is from a French journal, Revue et Gazette musicale de Paris<\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"La Revue et Gazette musicale de Paris,\u00a0<\/em>Vol. 5 No. 44 (4 November 1838): [1p] 448\/449.<\/span><\/p>\n

*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *<\/span><\/p>\n

STUDENTS become increasingly curious, which you can see in their faces.<\/em><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n\u201cSo we\u2019ve already seen an illustration from an
\nEnglish, German, and French journal. Now here\u2019s
\none from an Italian journal, Strenna Teatrale Europea<\/em><\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Strenna Teatrale Europea,\u00a0<\/em>Vol. 3 No. 2 (1840): [1p] 35\/36.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *<\/span><\/p>\n

STUDENTS are almost speechless.<\/em><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n\u201cAs you review your search results, you will
\nfind that the 28 illustrations span Meyerbeer’s
\nentire career.\u00a0 This illustration published in the Revue musicale<\/em><\/a>
\nfor example, depicts Meyerbeer in his later years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"La Revue musicale,\u00a0<\/em>Vol. 4 No. 2 (15 January 1904): 61.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *<\/span><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n\u201cNow that we\u2019ve indelibly imprinted in your
\nmemory the maestro\u2019s physiognomy, let\u2019s
\nlook at a few images related to his operas.\u201d<\/p>\n

STUDENTS, now properly adjusted to RIPM\u2019s seemingly endless amount of rich primary source materials, look on with wonderment.<\/em><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n“Meyerbeer’s operas were extremely popular and
\nmuch appreciated for their staging and scenery\u201d<\/p>\n

STUDENT ONE
\n(calling out)
\n“Well, that\u2019s interesting, but what did
\nthese lavish productions look like?”<\/p>\n

PROFESSOR continues.<\/em><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n“Fortunately, some of the 3,350 engravings dealing with music\u00a0that
\nappeared\u00a0in L\u2019Illustration<\/em>, France\u2019s first illustrated newsweekly,\u00a0offer
\na glimpse into the opulent productions of Meyerbeer\u2019s grand operas
\nduring the height of their popularity in Paris.\u00a0 For example, here\u2019s
\nan engraving depicting the Coronation Scene\u00a0in the M\u00fcnster Cathedral
\nfrom Act IV of the premiere of Le Proph\u00e8te\u00a0<\/em>(1849).”<\/p>\n

\"\"L\u2019Illustration<\/em>, Vol. XIII (28 April 1849): 131.<\/span><\/p>\n

*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *<\/span><\/p>\n

PROFESSOR
\n\u201cWhen viewing this illustration and listening
\nsimultaneously to the famous Coronation March
\nfrom this scene, one begins to get a sense of just
\nhow \u201cgrand\u201d a Meyerbeer opera must have been!\u201d<\/p>\n