What did Carl Maria von Weber blue plaque do at 103 Great Portland Street?

The Story

Looking up at this Georgian building at 103 Great Portland Street, it's poignant to realize this is where one of Germany's greatest Romantic composers drew his final breath. Carl Maria von Weber, weakened by tuberculosis, had traveled to London in 1826 to conduct the premiere of his opera Oberon at Covent Garden, staying in this house with his friend Sir George Smart during what would become his last weeks. Though the opera was a triumph, Weber's health rapidly declined in the damp London climate, and he passed away here in the early hours of June 5, 1826, far from his family in Dresden. The room where the 39-year-old composer died became a somber footnote in musical history, though his body would later be returned to Germany at the request of his wife and with the help of his admirer Richard Wagner.