Christoph Willibald von Gluck on Music Theory Print

Alceste (Gluck)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The famous preface#

When Gluck published the score of Alceste in Vienna in 1769, he added a famous preface in Italian almost certainly written by Calzabigi, which set out their ideals for operatic reform, whose programmatic points follow those exposed by Francesco Algarotti in his Saggio sopra l’opera in musica (Essay on opera in music, 1755), namely: * no da capo arias, * no opportunity for vocal improvisation or virtuosic displays of vocal agility or power, * no long melismas, * a more predominantly syllabic setting of the text to make the words more intelligible, * far less repetition of text within an aria, * a blurring of the distinction between recitative and aria, declamatory and lyrical passages, with altogether less recitative, * accompanied rather than secco recitative, * simpler, more flowing melodic lines, * an overture that is linked by theme or mood to the ensuing action. Alceste also has no role for the castrato voice, although Gluck would return to using a castrato in his next opera, Paride ed Elena, and even rewrite the tenor role of Admetus for the soprano castrato Giuseppe Millico, in the 1770 revival of Alceste in Vienna.

Antigono (Gluck)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Plot#

The Macedonian King Antigono and his banished son Demetrio are both loved by the Egyptian princess Berenice. Antigono’s daughter, Ismene, loves Alessandro, who is the enemy of Macedonia. The opera portrays a violent struggle between Antigono and Alessandro. Typical for opera seria plots, identities and the emotional relations between the characters become confused. Everything is resolved through the forgiveness of King Antigono, and the opera seria ends happily.

Characters#

Antigono (King of Macedonia) – tenor
Berenice (Egyptian Princess) – soprano castrato travesti
Demetrio (Son of Antigono) – soprano castrato
Ismene (Daughter of Antigono) – soprano castrato travesti
Alessandro (Enemy of Macedonia) – soprano castrato
Clearco (Officer to Alessandro) – contralto castrato

Productions#

Ensemble Serse gave the modern day premiere of Antigono on 25 April 2015 in an uncut edition performed on period instruments. The cast was: Antigono – Simon Gfeller (tenor); Berenice – Calvin Wells (male soprano); Demetrio – Milena Dobrzycka (soprano); Alessandro – Michael Taylor (counter-tenor); Ismene – Jorg Delfos (counter-tenor); Clearco – Tom Verney (counter-tenor) Musical director – Greg Batsleer

Armide (Gluck)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background and performance history#

Gluck set the same libretto Philippe Quinault had written for Lully in 1686, based on Torquato Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered). Gluck seemed at ease in facing French traditions head-on when he composed Armide. Lully and Quinault were the very founders of serious opera in France and Armide was generally recognized as their masterpiece, so it was a bold move on Gluck’s part to write new music to Quinault’s words. A similar attempt to write a new opera to the libretto of Thésée by Jean-Joseph de Mondonville in 1765 had ended in disaster, with audiences demanding it be replaced by Lully’s original. By utilizing Armide, Gluck challenged the long-standing and apparently inviolable ideals of French practice, and in the process he revealed these values capable of renewal through “modern” compositional sensitivities. Critical response and resultant polemic resulted in one of those grand imbroglios common to French intellectual life. Gluck struck a nerve in French sensitivities, and whereas Armide was not one of his more popular works, it remained a critical touchstone in the French operatic tradition and was warmly praised by Berlioz in his Memoirs. Gluck also set a minor fashion for resetting Lully/Quinault operas: Gluck’s rival Piccinni followed his example with Roland in 1778 and Atys in 1780; in the same year, Philidor produced a new Persée; and Gossec offered his version of Thésée in 1782. Gluck himself is said to have been working on an opera based on Roland, but he abandoned it when he heard Piccinni had taken on the same libretto. Armide remained on the repertoire of the Parisian Académie Nationale de Musique throughout the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, with revivals held in 1805, 1811, 1818, 1819 and 1825. A new production directed by Émile Perrin in 1866 featured sets by Édouard Desplechin (Act II), Auguste Alfred Rubé and Philippe Chaperon (Act III), and Charles-Antoine Cambon (Acts IV and V). Another big-budget production was staged at the Opéra on 12 April 1905, starring Lucienne Bréval in the title role, Alice Verlet, Agustarello Affre, Dinh Gilly, and Geneviève Vix. The costumes were designed by Charles Bianchini and Charles Bétout; the sets were by Cambon’s student Eugène Carpezat (Act I), Amable (Acts II and V), and Marcel Jambon and Alexandre Bailly (Acts III and IV). The Opéra’s 1905 production was followed on 7 November 1905 by a big-budget staging at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels. Overseen by Gluck connoisseur François-Auguste Gevaert, it featured Félia Litvinne in the title role, costumes by the symbolist artist Fernand Khnopff, and eight sets by Albert Dubosq. Hugely successful, this sumptuous production enjoyed a first run of forty performances, with subsequent revivals in 1909, 1924 and 1948. The Metropolitan Opera staged the work for the opening of its 1910–1911 season. Toscanini conducted a cast led by Olive Fremstad, Louise Homer and Enrico Caruso.

Chaconne (ballet)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Original cast#

: Pas de trois *Renee Estopinal *Wilhelmina Frankfurt *Jay Jolley : Pas de deux *Susan Hendl *Jean-Pierre Frohlich : Pas de cinq *Elise Flagg *Bonita Borne *Elyse Borne *Laura Flagg *Nichol Hlinka : Pas de deux *Suzanne Farrell *Peter Martins : Chaconne *Suzanne Farrell *Susan Pilarre *Marjorie Spohn *Tracy Bennett :and corps de ballet *Peter Martins *Gerard Ebitz

Filmography#

1978 TFC, Peter Martins: A Dancer, pas de deux

Don Juan (ballet)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

The ballet Don Juan was based on Molière’s Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre of 1665. . The music was known to Vincenzo Righini, who borrowed some of its ideas in his opera Il convitato di pietra, first performed in Prague in 1776 as the second of the three notable operas originating in Prague that were based on the Don Juan legend (the most famous being Don Giovanni of 1776 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart). The 19th movement, marked “Moderato,” was used by Mozart in the third act finale of his opera Le nozze di Figaro.

Écho et Narcisse

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Performance history#

Écho et Narcisse was first performed on 24 September 1779 by the Paris Opéra in the second Salle du Palais-Royal. The opera is in the pastoral tradition, a genre not in favor at the Opéra at the time, and it was a failure, discontinued after only 12 performances. Gluck decided to go back to Vienna and never returned to Paris. He revised the work for 8 August 1780, but this version only enjoyed nine performances. A third version was presented to the public on 8 June 1781. This was better received. However, it was infrequently produced until René Jacobs revived it in 1987 at the Schwetzingen Festival. Jacobs used the revised version as the original one has not survived, except for the libretto.

Ezio (Gluck)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Metastasio’s libretto for this opera had previously been set by a number of composers, including Nicola Porpora (1728) and Pietro Auletta (1728), Hasse (Naples, 1730; Dresden, 1755), Handel (London, 1732) and Latilla (Naples, 1758). Ezio was first performed during Carnival in Prague (1750); Gluck revised his setting for Vienna (1763). Unlike the two completely different settings of the text by Mysliveček, Naples (1775) and Munich (1777), Gluck’s two versions share about half their music.

Iphigénie en Aulide

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Performance history#

At first, Iphigénie was not popular, except for its overture which was applauded generously. After the premiere, it was billed for three days in April 1774, but its first run was interrupted by the theatre’s six-week closure due to the dying of Louis XV. For the 1775 revival, “Gluck revised Iphigénie en Aulide … introducing the goddess Diana (soprano) at the end of the opera as a dea ex machina, and altering and expanding the divertissements … So, broadly speaking, there are two versions of the opera; but the differences are by no means so great or important as those between Orfeo ed Euridice and Orphée et Euridice or between the Italian and the French Alceste”. In 1847 Richard Wagner presented a revised German version of Gluck’s opera, Iphigenia in Aulis, at the court of Dresden. Wagner edited, re-scored and revised the opera significantly including a different ending and some other passages of his own composition. Wagner’s version of the opera is available on Eichhorn’s 1972 LP recording starring Anna Moffo and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and was also revived at the 1984 Waterloo Festival with Alessandra Marc as Iphigenia. Wagner’s finale translated back into French was also performed in the 2002/2003 La Scala production conducted by Riccardo Muti. Iphigénie en Aulide was first performed in the United States on 22 February 1935 at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia. The fully staged production was presented by the Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Alexander Smallens. Directed by Herbert Graf, it used sets by Norman Bel Geddes and starred Georges Baklanoff as Agamemnon, Cyrena van Gordon as Clytemnestre, Rosa Tentoni as Iphigénie, Joseph Bentonelli as Achille, and Leonard Treash as Patrocle.

Iphigénie en Tauride

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Performance history#

Iphigénie en Tauride was first performed on 18 May 1779 by the Paris Opéra at the second Salle du Palais-Royal and was a great success. Some think that the head of the Paris Opéra, Devismes, had attempted to stoke up the rivalry between Gluck and Niccolò Piccinni, an Italian composer also resident in the French capital, by asking them both to set an opera on the subject of Iphigenia in Tauris. In the event, Piccinni’s Iphigénie en Tauride was not premiered until January 1781 and did not enjoy the popularity that Gluck’s work did. In 1781 Gluck produced a German version of the opera, Iphigenia in Tauris, for the visit of the Russian Grand Duke Paul to Vienna, with the libretto translated and adapted by Johann Baptist von Alxinger in collaboration with the composer. Among the major changes was the transposition of the role of Oreste from baritone to tenor and the replacement of the final chorus of Act 2 with an instrumental movement. The revised version was the only opera Gluck wrote in German, and his last work for the stage. Styled “a tragic Singspiel”, it was staged on 23 October 1781 at the Nationalhoftheater, as the emperor Joseph II had had the Burgtheater renamed after dismissing the Italian singers and their orchestra in 1776 and installing German actors in the theatre. When the meagre results achieved by the new Singspiel programmes led the emperor to back down, getting an Italian opera buffa company recruited again and engaging Lorenzo Da Ponte as his theatre poet, the latter was charged to prepare an Italian translation of Gluck’s opera, which was staged in the restored Burgtheater, on 14 December 1783. According to Irish tenor Michael Kelly’s “reminiscences” this production, too, was personally supervised by Gluck. The German edition was revived in Berlin at the former Königliches Nationaltheater in the Gendarmenmarkt on 24 February 1795, while Da Ponte’s translation was chosen for the London first performance at the King’s Theatre on 7 April 1796. The original French version eventually proved to be one of Gluck’s most popular composition in Paris: “it was billed on 35 dates in 1779, and it went on to enjoy more than four hundred representations in 1781–93, 1797–1808, 1812–18, 1821–23, 1826–28, and 1829. It was mounted at the Châtelet (1868), the Renaissance (1899), and the Opéra-Comique (1900). It was brought to the stage of the present opera house in Paris on 27 June 1931 with the aid of the Wagner Society of Amsterdam and with Pierre Monteux conducting the orchestra”. In 1889 Richard Strauss made a new German arrangement of the work for the publisher Adolph Fürstner, which was later staged in Weimar at the Hoftheater on 9 June 1900, under the Goethe-inspired title of Iphigenie auf Tauris. Strauss’s version was quite often performed at the beginning of the twentieth century and was also used for the work’s première at the Metropolitan Opera in 1916, but is by now rarely heard. conducted by Antonio de Almeida, in performance at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon. It was recently revived at the 2009 Festival della Valle d’Itria at Martina Franca. there was a memorable staging at the Teatro alla Scala in 1957, with Nino Sanzogno conducting the orchestra, Luchino Visconti as the director and Maria Callas in the title role.

L'arbre enchanté

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

References#

Notes Sources * Brown, Bruce Alan (1992). “Arbre enchanté, L ’ " in Sadie 1992, vol. 1, p. 163. * Brown, Bruce Alan (2001). “Gluck, Christoph Willibald, Ritter von. 3. Vienna, 1752–60” in Sadie 2001. * Rushton, Julian (1992). “Moline, Pierre-Louis” in Sadie 1992, vol. 3, p. 425. * Sadie, Stanley, editor (1992). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (4 volumes). London: Macmillan. . * Sadie, Stanley, editor (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition. London: Macmillan. (hardcover). (eBook). * Sadler, Graham (1992). “Vadé, Jean-Joseph” in Sadie 1992, vol. 4, p. 883.

La clemenza di Tito (Gluck)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Synopsis#

Note: In typical opera seria fashion, all arias sung in La Clemenza di Tito are followed by the same character’s immediate stage exit. :Setting: Rome 79 A.D.

Act 1#

Scene 1: A room in Vitellia’s apartment overlooking the river Tiber Vitellia, the daughter of deposed Emperor Vitellius, covets the throne of Titus, the son of recently deceased Emperor Vespasian who deposed Vitellia’s father. Vitellia is jealous of Berenice, the Judean princess whom Titus has chosen for a wife, and implores Sextus to assassinate Titus in revenge. Sextus is a close friend to Titus but is also madly in love with Vitellia. Annius, a friend of Sextus and Titus, arrives and announces that Titus has sent Berenice away from Rome. Vitellia’s hopes rise and she calls off the assassination plot. Sextus begins to complain, but Vitellia demands that he have complete faith in her (Vitellia: “Deh se piacer mi vuoi”). Annius, who is in love with Sextus’s sister Servilia, asks Sextus to get approval of his marriage from Titus. Sextus is delighted at the task and eager to tighten bonds with his friend, but Annius expresses an unexplainable fear that he may be denied Servilia’s hand (Annius: “Io sento che in petto”). Alone, Sextus contemplates his own love for Vitellia and the cruel power she has over him (Sextus: “Opprimete i contumaci”). Scene 2: The atrium of the Temple of Jupiter Stator with a view of the Roman Forum in the background Publius, prefect of the Praetorian Guard, awaits the arrival of Titus with an assembly of Roman senators, envoys and members of the Roman public. Titus approaches with Sextus and Annius, preceded by the Praetorian Guard (March). Annius announces the Senate’s decision to declare Titus a god and build a temple in his name. Publius presents tributes from the envoys to be used for the project, but Titus requests that the funds instead be redirected to the recent victims of Mount Vesuvius. All depart except Titus, Sextus, and Annius. Alone with his friends, Titus explains his imperative to quickly take a native Roman as his wife and announces his intention to marry Servilia, to the horror of Annius. Sextus begins to object on behalf of Annius, but Annius intercedes and downplays Sextus’s objection as mere modesty. Titus requests for Annius to carry the good news to Servilia and magnanimously tells Sextus of his joy in lifting up his friends (Titus: “Del più sublime soglio”). Titus departs with Sextus. Servilia approaches Annius and is told of Titus’s desire to marry her. Sevilia is surprised by the news and asks Annius to explain further. Annius only begs Servilia’s forgiveness and departs (Annius: “Ah! perdona al primo affetto”). Alone, Servilia vows to do everything in her power to preserve her love with Annius (Servilia: “Amo te solo”). Scene 3: A pleasant room in the imperial palace on Palatine Hill Publius is telling Titus about citizens who have been heard speaking ill of previous emperors but steps away to give Titus privacy when Servilia enters. Alone with Titus, Servilia reveals her secret love for Annius. Titus is overjoyed at Servilia’s honesty and gladly relinquishes her hand to Annius. Titus proclaims that if all his subjects followed her lead, his reign would indeed be nothing but delight (Titus: “Ah! se fosse intorno al trono”). Vitellia, bitter about being passed over yet again, storms into the room to confront Titus, but finds Servilia alone. Vitellia mockingly curtsies to her perceived rival. In revenge, Servilia decides not to reveal that Titus’s hand is once again free and departs, leaving Vitellia to stew in her delusion. Sextus appears and Vitellia berates him for failing to assassinate Titus. Vitellia reminds Sextus that she has loved Titus once before and she can love him again. Vitellia continues to goad Sextus to kill the only rival for her hand, as she may yet marry Titus if he lives. Finally, Sextus relents and promises to kill Titus. Vitellia is cold and uncompromising as Sextus departs (Sextus: “Parto; ma tu, ben mio”). Publius appears and announces to Vitellia that Titus has just chosen her as his bride. Vitellia sends Publius out to find Sextus and bring him back to her. Anxious, Vitellia awaits the return of Sextus (Vitellia: “Quando sarà quel dì”).

La corona (Gluck)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Synopsis#

Princess Atalanta decides to help the inhabitants of Kalydon to be free from the Calydonian wild boar that haunts the city. However, she hesitates as her sister and a friend want to come along. Prince Meleagro does not want women to be exposed to danger. Atalanta enters the forest and wounds the wild boar so that Meleagro can kill it. He gives her the credit but she insists on his having it. In the end, they decide to give the honour to the hunting goddess Diana.

La rencontre imprévue

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Performance history#

Gluck’s longest opéra-comique and considered his finest, La rencontre imprévue was his most popular work in the genre in the 18th century. It was performed in French in Brussels (1766), Bordeaux (as Ali et Rezia, 19 May 1766), Amsterdam (1768), The Hague (1768), Mannheim (1768), Copenhagen (1772), Liège (23 December 1776), Cassel (1780), Lille (17 November 1783), and Marseille (1784). It was translated into German as Die unvermuthete Zusammenkunft oder Die Pilgrimme von Mecca and performed in Frankfurt (16 April 1771), Vienna (1776 at the Kärntnertor Theater; 26 July 1780 at the Burgtheater), Munich (9 March 1779), Berlin (17 October 1783, the first Gluck opera to be performed there), and many other cities. The opera was first performed in Paris on 1 May 1790 by the Opéra-Comique at the first Salle Favart in an arrangement by Jean-Pierre Solié with the title Les fous de Médine, ou La rencontre imprévue. It was revived by the Opéra-Comique in Gluck’s arrangement (as Les pèlerins de la Mecque) on 20 December 1906, and also produced at the Trianon Lyrique on 8 November 1923. A new German translation by with the title Die Pilger von Mekka was performed in Wiesbaden (October 1922), Basel (26 September 1924), Berlin (18 February 1928), and Vienna (June 1931).

Le cadi dupé

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Synopsis#

The Cadi has been flirting with other women and neglecting his wife, Fatima. The mischievous Zelmire, who is in love with Nuradin, tricks the Cadi in order to teach him a lesson. She pretends to be Omar’s daughter, Ali, who is considered less than desirable. The duped Cadi plans to divorce Fatima in order to marry the pretending Zelmire, but the truth is eventually revealed.

References#

;Notes ;Bibliography *Original libretto: Le Cadi dupé, Opera-comique en un acte mêlé d’Ariettes, Vienne, Ghelen, 1761 (a copy at books-google) *Bruce Alan Brown, Cadi dupé, Le, in Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Grove (Oxford University Press), New York, 1997, I, p. 675,

Le cinesi

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Synopsis#

The Chinese women of the title are Lisinga and her two friends, Tangia and Sivene. The only other character is Lisinga’s brother Silango, who has just returned from Europe. To entertain him, they perform arias in contrasting styles: * Lisinga sings a tragic scena, as the character of Andromache. * Sivene and Silango sing a pastoral duet as shepherdess and shepherd, respectively. The two already share romantic feelings towards each other. * Tangia, who is envious of Silango’s affection towards Sivene, sings a comic aria that pokes fun at a young Parisian dandy standing before a mirror, and thus indirectly satirising Sivene. The characters agree that each style has its drawbacks. The opera concludes with a ballet, The Judgment of Paris, sung as a vocal quartet.

Le diable à quatre (opera)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Synopsis#

The story concerns an ill-natured Marquise. An astrologer, to whom she had refused shelter at her chateau, transforms her into the wife of a surly cobbler named Jacques and transforms the cobbler’s sweet-natured wife into the Marquise. After the Marquise learns her lesson, the astrologer reverses the spell.

Le feste d'Apollo

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The work#

The prologue and three acts are as follows:

Prologue#

The Italian libretto is by Carlo Gastone della Torre di Rezzonico (1742-1796). A group of young Athenian men and women, led by Anfrisio and Arcinia, gather to celebrate the festival of Apollo. The priest of Apollo reveals the god has sent him a vision which promises a flourishing future for the Duke of Parma and his bride.

Bauci e Filemone#

The libretto, by Giuseppe Maria Pagnini (1737–1814), is based on the myth of Baucis and Philemon in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In Pagnini’s version, Baucis and Philemon are not an old married couple but a pair of young lovers. The king of the gods, Jupiter, visits the world of mortals disguised as a traveller from Crete, intending to punish mankind for its wickedness. However, when he visits the countryside of Phrygia, Baucis and Philemon warmly welcome him to their cottages. Jupiter reveals his true identity and officiates at the wedding of the couple. He tells them they will live together as priests in his temple and when they die they will become demi-gods and protectors of the region. Bauci’s aria “Il mio pastor tu sei” in the third scene is notable for containing several top Gs - higher than Mozart’s notoriously famous aria for the Queen of the Night.

Orfeo ed Euridice

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

Francesco Algarotti’s Essay on the Opera (1755) was a major influence in the development of Gluck’s reformist ideology. Algarotti proposed a heavily simplified model of opera seria, with the drama pre-eminent, instead of the music or ballet or staging. The drama itself should “delight the eyes and ears, to rouse up and to affect the hearts of an audience, without the risk of sinning against reason or common sense”. Algarotti’s ideas influenced both Gluck and his librettist, Calzabigi. Calzabigi was himself a prominent advocate of reform, Other influences included the composer Niccolò Jommelli and his maître de ballet at Stuttgart, Jean-Georges Noverre. According to Patricia Howard, this ending has been harshly criticized and often dismissed by later critics as a product of Orfeo ed Euridice premiering on the name day of the Emperor Francis I, a celebratory event. However, contemporary audiences would have been accustomed to the deus ex machina happy ending, which was a usual convention in neoclassical drama.

Paride ed Elena

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Synopsis#

The hero Paris is in Sparta, having chosen Aphrodite above Hera and Athena, sacrificing to Aphrodite and seeking, with the encouragement of Erasto, the love of Helen. Paris and Helen meet at her royal palace and each is struck by the other’s beauty. She calls on him to judge an athletic contest and when asked to sing he does so in praise of her beauty, admitting the purpose of his visit is to win her love. She dismisses him. In despair Paris pleads with her, and she begins to give way. Eventually, through the intervention of Erasto, who reveals himself as Cupid, she gives way, but Pallas Athene (Athena) warns them of sorrow to come. In the final scene Paris and Helen make ready to embark for Troy.