meyerbeer was always more popular in france than in germany. his operas are about the society of wealthy people. the sounds he made with his orchestra are often deliberately harsh. in this he is like beethoven in his final years, and berlioz. sometimes he used new instruments such as the bass clarinet and the saxophone. he always thought carefully about what his singers were capable of when writing his music. he enjoyed working with different singers, among them velluti, who was the last of the great operatic castrati. he took great trouble to give his singers rests during the opera so that they would still be in good voice for the climax of the story. he liked scenes with large crowds. he composed his dance music, in particular, very carefully. often he would throw it away and start again if the dancers were not happy with it.