Ernest Reyer (1823 - 1909) was the adopted name of French
opera composer and music critic Louis Étienne Ernest Rey. The best-known of his five operas is Sigurd (1884); it was quite popular in France during its initial production there (it had its premier in Brussels at the Theatre de La Monnaie in January of 1884), and is sometimes (although rarely) revived. Sigurd is based on the Scandinavian
legends of the Edda Volsungsaga (Nibelungenlied), the same source which Richard Wagner drew upon for the libretto for his Ring cycle. The music of Sigurd, however, is quite unlike the music of Wagner. Reyer's last opera was Salammbô (1890), based on the novel by Gustave Flaubert. Reyer, unable to support himself on the proceeds from his operas, succeeded Hector Berlioz as music critic at the Journal des débats ; he also worked as the librarian at the Paris Opera. Other compositions by Reyer include a symphonic ode entitled Le Sélam for soprano, tenor, baritone, chorus & orchestra; a ballet entitled Sacuntala (also the title of a famous overture by Karl Goldmark and of an opera by Franco Alfano); and the operas Maître Wolfram, La Statue, and Erostrate.
