In 'Le Prophete' Meyerbeer chose a subject which, if less rich in
dramatic possibility than that of 'Les Huguenots,' has a far deeper
psychological interest. Unfortunately, Scribe, with all his cleverness,
was quite the worst man in the world to deal with the story of John of
Leyden. In the libretto which he constructed for Meyerbeer's benefit the
psychological interest is conspicuous only by its absence, and the
character of the young leader of the Anabaptists is degraded to the
level of the merest puppet. John, an innkeeper of Leyden, loves Bertha,
a village maiden who dwells near Dordrecht. Unfortunately, her liege
lord, the Count of Oberthal, has designs upon the girl himself, and
refuses his consent to the marriage. Bertha escapes from his clutches
and flies to the protection of her lover, but Oberthal secures the
person of Fides, John's old mother, and by threats of putting her to
death, compels him to give up Bertha. Wild with rage against the vice
and lawlessness of the nobles, John joins the ranks of the Anabaptists,
a revolutionary sect pledged to the destruction of the powers that be.
Their leaders recognise him as a prophet promised by Heaven, and he is
installed as their chief. The Anabaptists lay siege to Munster, which
falls into their hands, and in the cathedral John is solemnly proclaimed
the Son of God. During the ceremony he is recognised by Fides, who,
believing him to have been slain by the false prophet, has followed the
army to Munster in hopes of revenge. She rushes forward to claim her
son, but John pretends not to know her. To admit an earthly relationship
would be to prejudice his position with the populace, and he compels her
to confess that she is mistaken. The coronation ends with John's
triumph, while the hapless Fides is carried off to be immured in a
dungeon. John visits her in her cell, and obtains her pardon by
promising to renounce his deceitful splendour and to fly with her. Later
he discovers that a plot against himself has been hatched by some of the
Anabaptist leaders, and he destroys himself and them by blowing up the
palace of Munster. Meyerbeer's music, fine as much of it is, suffers
chiefly from the character of the libretto. The latter is merely a
string of conventionally effective scenes, and the music could hardly
fail to be disjointed and scrappy. Meyerbeer had little or no feeling
for characterisation, so that the opportunities for really dramatic
effect which lay in th