page_title: Le prophète
section_title: Music
hierarchical_section_title: Le prophète / Analysis / Music
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Gravure de Charles Bour (1814-1881) pour la publication de la partition piano et chant du Prophète de Meyerbeer (1849)
context_page_description: Le prophète is a grand opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The French-language libretto was by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, after passages from the Essay on the Manners and Spirit of Nations by Voltaire. The plot is based on the life of John of Leiden, Anabaptist leader and self-proclaimed "King of Münster" in the 16th century.
context_section_description: The musical unity of the work is established by the existence of some recurring themes: the main is the Anabaptist hymn "Ad nos, ad salutarem undam, iterum venite miseri", which is heard in the first act with the sinister appearance of the three Anabaptists. It reappears in the third act when Jean calms his troops who have just suffered a defeat, while preparing them for new battles. Finally, the theme appears again at the beginning of the last act as the three Anabaptists plan to betray the "prophet". Another theme used as a recurring motif relates to the role of prophet taken up by Jean. It is heard for the first time in a distorted form in the second act when Jean recounts the dream that haunts him. Then it is heard again, with a different tone and rhythm, in the coronation march of the fourth act.
  The many novel orchestral effects of the score were much admired by the composer Hector Berlioz in his review of the original production.
  Of the vocal music, the trio in the second scene of act 3 is particularly notable for the original way in which a serious situation is set by Meyerbeer to a comic trio. Count Oberthal has come in the dark to the Anabaptist camp hoping to infiltrate their group and disrupt their plans. The Anabaptists Zacharie and Jonas at first do not recognise him, and in the trio Oberthal swears, to a catchy tune, that he wants to execute as many aristocrats as he can while the Anabaptists gaily add "tra-la-las". But, holding a lamp to Oberthal's face, Jonas recognises his enemy and the same seemingly jolly music is repeated, to sardonic effect,as the two Anabaptists swear to kill him and Oberthal expresses his hatred of them.
  A critical edition of the score was published in 2011.
caption: Frontispiece of the original vocal score
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