Robert the Devil is a legend of medieval origin about a Norman knight who discovers he is the son of Satan. His mother, despairing of heaven's aid in order to obtain a son, had asked for help from the devil. Robert's satanic instincts propel him into a violent and sinful life, but he eventually overcomes them to achieve repentance.
Robert commits one of his crimes (left) and is knighted (right); 15th-century illustration from the Chronique de Normandie
Louis Guéymard in the Meyerbeer opera
Robert le diable is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831, to a libretto written in French by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. Robert le diable is regarded as one of the first grand operas at the Paris Opéra. It has only a superficial connection to the medieval legend of Robert the Devil.
Set for Act III in the première
Meyerbeer, c. 1825, shortly before he commenced working on Robert.
Poster for the 1831 first performance
Act 3 scene 2 of Robert at the Paris Opéra (Salle Le Peletier), 1831