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Christoph Willibald von Gluck

Le cinesi

Le cinesi (The Chinese Women) is an opera in one act, with music composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck. The Italian-language libretto was by Pietro Metastasio, and he described it as a . This

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.

Recordings#

  • Deutsche Harmonia Mundi EL 16 9575 1: Isabelle Poulenard, Gloria Banditelli, Anne Sofie von Otter, Guy de Mey; Orchestra of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis; René Jacobs, conductor
  • Orpheo Cat: 178891A: Kaaren Erickson, Alexandrina Miltcheva, Marga Schiml, Thomas Moser; Munich Radio Orchestra; Lamberto Gardelli, conductor.
  • Libretto of Le cinesi
  • “Details”, Bampton Classical Opera
Composer
Christoph Willibald von Gluck