Robert Ignatius Letellier was educated in Grahamstown, Cambridge, Salzburg, Rome and Jerusalem. He is a member of Trinity College, Cambridge, the Maryvale Institute in Birmingham, and the Institute of Continuing Education at Madingley Hall, Cambridge. His publications number over 90 items, including books and articles on the early and Romantic novel (particularly the Gothic novel and Sir Walter Scott), the Bible, and European culture. He has specialized in the Romantic opera, especially the work of Giacomo Meyerbeer, and has written on Daniel-François-Esprit Auber, the opéra-comique, Ludwig Minkus and the nineteenth-century ballet. He has also worked as a consultant for the BBC, the Royal Opera House, Naxos International and Marston Records.