There is no satisfactory biography. John Gruen’s often cited Menotti: A Biography
(New York: Macmillan, 1978) is superficial and undocumented.
Saverio Mercadante (1795–1870)
In IO–1810: Elisa e Claudioand excerpts from L’apoteosi d’Ercole,v.14; Il giura-
mento,v.18; Elena da Feltre,v.20; Il bravo,v.21; and La vestale,v.22.
- Kaufman, Tom. “Mercadante and Verdi.” OQ13-3 (Spring 1997): 41–56.
Most comments about Mercadante’s music are uninformed; Kaufman holds
that much of it is worthy of comparison with Verdi’s. Among the writers chas-
tised are Julian Budden, Francis Toye, and Michael Rose (in NGDO). Kauf-
man refutes claims that Mercadante kept Verdi from performing in Naples.
Tables of performances of selected works by both composers are given, show-
ing that Mercadante was more popular up to 1900, when the tide shifted.
Musical examples from many operas, with interesting discussions, and 26
footnotes to the other secondary literature. - Bryan, Karen McGaha. “An Experiment in Form: The Reform Operas of Save-
rio Mercadante.” Ph.D. diss., Indiana U., 1994. 2v.
André Messager (1853–1929)
- Wagstaff, John.André Messager: A Bio-Bibliography. Bio-Bibliographies in
Music, 33. New York: Greenwood, 1991. xv, 188p. ISBN 0-3132-5736-1.
ML134 .M5359 .W3.
The listing includes many reviews and notices for the stage works.
Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864)
1189.Giacomo Meyerbeer: A Life in Letters. Ed. Heinz Becker and Gudrun Becker.
Trans. Mark Violette. Portland, Ore.: Amadeus, 1989. 215p. ISBN 0-931340-
19-5. ML410 .M61.
A well-annotated presentation of 116 letters, dealing with genesis and produc-
tion of his operas and his always favorable views on other composers. Useful
biographical section, worklist, bibliography, index.- Döhring, Sieghart, and Arnold Jacobshagen. Meyerbeer und das europäische
Musiktheater.Laaber: Laaber, 1998. x, 514p. ISBN 3-89007-410-3. ML410
.M606 M61.
A collection of 27 papers presented at a 1991 symposium. These are the most
useful: Jean Mongrédien, “Les débuts de Meyerbeer à Paris: Il crociato in
Egitto au Théâtre Royal Italien”; Knud Arne Jürgensen, “The ‘Ballet of the
Nuns’ from Robert le diable and Its Revival”; Marta Ottlová, “Oper und
Traum: Le pardon de Ploërmel”; Albert Gier, “L’africaineund die Ideologie
des Kolonialismus”; Robert I. Letellier, “History, Myth and Music in a Theme
of Exploration: Some Reflections on the Musico-Dramatic Language of
L’africaine”; Jürgen Schläder, “Die Sterbeszene der Sélika: Zur Dramaturgie
des Finales in Meyerbeers L’africaine”; Fabrizio della Seta, “Un aspetto della
228 Opera