 Born to a very wealthy Berlin family , Meyerbeer began his musical career as a pianist but soon decided to devote himself to opera , spending several years in Italy studying and composing . His 1824 opera Il crociato in Egitto was the first to bring him Europe @-@ wide reputation , but it was Robert le diable ( 1831 ) which raised his status to great celebrity . His public career , lasting from then until his death , during which he remained a dominating figure in the world of opera , was summarized by his contemporary Hector Berlioz , who claimed that he ' has not only the luck to be talented , but the talent to be lucky . ' He was at his peak with his operas Les Huguenots ( 1836 ) and Le prophète ( 1849 ) ; his last opera ( L 'Africaine ) was performed posthumously . His operas made him the most frequently performed composer at the world 's leading opera houses in the nineteenth century . 
