Alceste, title character of molieres comedy le misanthrope first performed 1666. The present manuscript is an important document of some of those efforts, the culmination of a lifetime of experience and thought, to preserve alceste. This article was most recently revised and updated by j. Long before the start of the play, king admetus was granted by the fates the privilege of living past the allotted time of his death. Alceste, a 1768 opera by pietro alessandro guglielmi. When i undertook to write the music for alceste, i resolved to divest it entirely of. In the case of the paris alceste 1776, which gluck had also originally composed for vienna 1767, the composer created a completely new. Alceste alcestis, queen of pherae in thessaly, soprano. But for reasons of taste and technique, the first 150 years of operatic history dropped out of the mainstream repertory in the 19th century. Entertaining as history, then, but not quite alceste as gluck envisioned.
Just a short walk from grand central and penn station. The reform dedication of the publication of alceste in 1769 read more. Believing that operatic music should serve drama rather than asserting its own presence through virtuosity and ornament, gluck set out to revive the dramatic ideals of greek tragedy, and reclaim opera that most beautiful of spectacles. The title character in christoph willibald glucks opera alceste. This makes for clearer moments in the big tuttis, however. Individual parts and sets do not come with covers and are normally saddle. The result is electrifying, as gluck well performed always is. Performers reprints are produced in conjunction with the international music score library project. Glucks alceste has landmark status in opera history, no denying that. In the preface to his second reform opera, alceste, gluck states clearly what he had found objectionable in the opera seria of the day. And there may well be a way to stage this respected work that would make it seem as majestically moving as it must have. Alceste charles mackerras, janet baker, robert tear on allmusic 2008. Alcestes disgust with the superficialities and deceits of his fellows, culminating in his withdrawal from society, provides the plays mild dramatic conflict.
In 1767, in the preface for alceste, gluck theorised on the reform of opera seria. Everything, audio recordings, booksprinted material, films, videos. Gluck, christoph willibald in the new grove dictionary of opera, edited by stanley sadie. Full score qty 2 a9047 christoph willibald gluck on. Please consult the manual of style for creating composer work lists. Shop for vinyl, cds and more from christoph willibald gluck at the discogs marketplace. Alceste, a 1767 opera by christoph willibald gluck. That it does not occur is a tribute to the varied way that gluck articulates the opera, plus the beauty and variety of expression of bakers performance. If the truth be known or acknowledged, in addition to a great alceste, you need a conductor who adores the work and who, while acknowledging its classicism, is willing to give the singers room for rubato and even, yes, thrills. Alceste was not a success when first produced in paris on april 23, 1776. A list of works in the composer category that are not included here can be found on this page. Preface and reformswhen calzabigi published alceste, he added a preface signed by gluck. Alceste, first performed in vienna in december 1767, was the second salvo in christoph willibald gluck s famous campaign to reform italian opera seria. Alcestis or alceste, a princess in greek mythology.
List of books and articles about christoph willibald gluck. Her biography and over 8 million other books are available for amazon kindle. Christoph willibald gluck alceste alceste maria callas admetus renato gavarini priest paolo silveri apollo rolando panerai evandros giuseppe zampieri herold enrico campi oracle. Christoph willibald gluck was a famous opera composer of the classical period. Revised and newly engraved urtext edition based on the gluck complete edition french libretto with singable german translation. This book brings together a variety of eighteenth century sourcesprincipally letters to and from gluckto construct a portrait of one of the most interesting musicians of that century. One of glucks friends, the printer corancez, went to look for gluck in the wings of the theater in order to condole with him and gives us the following curious account of the meeting. Glucks alceste, in contrast to the elaborate version of the story by lully and quinault, offers a much simpler and more human version. In the case of the paris alceste 1776, which gluck had also originally composed for vienna 1767, the composer created a completely new version which was. Christoph willibald gluck biography profile, childhood. The initial rejection of the work by the audience caused him to further alter the third act, for example by adding the character of hercules as alcestes saviour. The music treasures consortium is an alliance of many libraries. The fates were persuaded to allow this by the god apollo who got them dru.
Oct 03, 1982 glucks alceste has landmark status in opera history, no denying that. Kalender, wochenplaner, tagebuch, notizbuch, buch 105 seiten im softcover. All kalmus orchestra library items except study scores and vocal scores are largeformat either 10x or 9x12 inches printed on highquality offset stock. But the story ends happily as she is snatched from the jaws of death by the. Roles and premiere cast in part from the new kobbes opera book 1997, earl of.
Alcestis play project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Gluck s alceste, in contrast to the elaborate version of the story by lully and quinault, offers a much simpler and more human version of the legend. Home browse music and performing arts music history of music baroque age in music 16001750 christoph willibald gluck. Read on to know more about christoph willibald glucks profile, childhood, life and timeline in this biography. Discover librarianselected research resources on christoph willibald gluck from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more.
Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Charles burney on glucks reform of opera seria 1773. This job he fulfilled partially by reworking works which had already been premiered in vienna. Glucks preface to the 1769 first publication of alceste nowadays, however, assumed to have been written by calzabigi, glucks orfeo and alceste librettist is one of the key documents of opera history, endlessly quoted, particularly the opening phrase. The premiere took place on 26 december 1767 at the burgtheater in vienna. List of operas by christoph willibald gluck wikipedia. Charles burney on glucks reform of opera seria 1773 christoph willibald glucks. Firstborn american poetry series by gluck, louise and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. This page was last edited on 3 december 2018, at 04.
Gluck, christoph willibald alceste barenreiter verlag. Streetplonk 1999 by gluck and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The library of congress is hosting the consortium web site which gives bibliographic information on each item. Excerpts from glucks alceste, copied and revised by hector. Edward downes proves himself to be a suitably fiery, urgent verdian. The program lists it as grand scene from act iii of glucks alceste sung by m. Alceste, first performed in vienna in december 1767, was the second salvo in christoph willibald glucks famous campaign to reform italian opera seria. The survival of glucks operas owes much to the efforts of hector berlioz. Explore releases from christoph willibald gluck at discogs. Glucks preface to the published score of alceste is a manifesto of his artistic beliefs, setting out the principles by which he sought to restrict the music to its true purpose of serving to give expression to the poetry.
In addition to incorporating a troupe of dancers, this version of alceste features the english baroque soloists, a period orchestra. Firstborn by gluck abebooks abebooks shop for books. This page lists all recordings of alceste by christoph willibald gluck. When it comes to alceste, the book of the opera is clearly dramatic all the way through. Glucks alceste, in contrast to the elaborate version of the story by lully and quinault, offers a much simpler and more human version of the legend. The character of alceste dominates the opera and alceste is completely focused on her marital love so that monotony could threaten. In alceste and in iphigenie en tauride, the overtures, instead of closing before the curtain rises, merge into the music and the mood of the opening act. This book brings together a variety of eighteenth century sourcesprincipally letters to and from gluck to construct a portrait of one of the most interesting musicians of that century. In overture the dedication of his opera alceste 1767 declared that the overture should prepare the audience for the plot of the play. Christoph willibald gluck, john eliot gardiner, english baroque soloists.
All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Excerpts from glucks alceste, copied and revised by hector berlioz. In her last year on the operatic stage, janet baker sang the magnificent title role in glucks alceste, with the scholarly but ardent charles mackerras conducting. The title character in christoph willibald glucks opera alceste demonstrates an. Alceste milan, 1954 to enjoy in your home or car, or gift it to another music lover. The cds seem to have been transferred at a very low level and therefore the sound must be turned up pretty high in order to actually hear the soloists some of the time. Search the history of over 411 billion web pages on the internet. A list of the top opera music composers and their compositions. In this form the opera finally became a big success. Opera was transformed by glucks alceste the new york times.