About the work
Grand opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer to a libretto by Eugène Scribe, composed from 1836 and premiered on 16 April 1849 at the Paris Opéra. The plot draws on the Anabaptist leader Jan van Leiden, who proclaimed himself king in the Westphalian city of Münster in the sixteenth century.
Plot
The peasant Jean van Leiden is made leader by the Anabaptists after Count Oberthal has refused him permission to marry Berthe. Crowned as self-proclaimed prophet and king, Jean publicly disowns his mother Fidès to hide his origins; Berthe takes her own life once she recognises his true role. Driven by remorse, Jean finally blows up the burning castle together with his followers, the returned Fidès, and himself.
Cultural significance
For the coronation scene, the Opéra used electric arc light for the first time to simulate a sunrise — a sensational novelty at the time. With more than 500 performances by the outbreak of the First World War, "Le prophète" ranks alongside "Robert le diable" and "Les Huguenots" as one of Meyerbeer's three most successful stage works.