 In particular , after 1849 , Wagner resented Meyerbeer 's continuing success at a time when his own vision of German opera had little chance of <unk> . After the May Uprising in Dresden of 1849 , Wagner was for some years a political refugee facing a prison sentence or worse should he return to <unk> . During his period of living in exile he had few sources of income and little opportunity of getting his own works performed . The success of Le prophète sent Wagner over the edge , and he was also deeply envious of Meyerbeer 's wealth . In reaction he published , under a pseudonym , his 1850 essay ' Jewishness in Music ' . Without specifically naming Meyerbeer , he interpreted the popular success of the latter as the <unk> of German music by alleged Jewish <unk> and willingness to cater to the lowest tastes , and attributed the supposed poor quality of such ' Jewish music ' to Jewish speech and song patterns , which ' though the cultured son of <unk> takes <unk> pains to strip them off , nevertheless they <unk> an <unk> <unk> in <unk> to him ' . 
