Review: Giacomo Meyerbeer's "Briefwechsel und Tagebücher Vol. 5"

Comments on the fifth volume, which analyzes the slow unfolding process, initiated in the early 1950s when Heinz Becker was given permission by Meyerbeer's aged grandson to begin sorting and editing his ancestor's surviving archive (edited by Sabine Henze-Döhring, De Gruyter, 1998). Notes that Becker's groundbreaking first volume appeared in 1960, and established the blueprint for this series. Explains that this volume covers the period 11 June 1849 to 31 December 1852, and comes as the most substantial contribution to date.