| Operas by Christoph Willibald Gluck |
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Le cinesi (1754) |
Alceste is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck. The libretto was written by Ranieri de Calzabigi (in Italian) and based on the play Alcestis by Euripides.
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Preface and reforms
When Calzabigi published Alceste, he added a preface signed by Gluck, which set out their ideals for operatic reform. The opera displays the features set out in this manifesto, namely:
- no da capo arias
- little or 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
- secco rather than accompanied recitative
- simpler, more flowing melodic lines
- an overture that is linked by theme or mood to the ensuing action
- more prominence for the chorus, giving it, in imitation of classical Greek drama, an important role commenting on the events unfolding on the stage.
Alceste also has no role for the castrato voice, although Gluck would return to using a castrato in his next opera, Paride ed Elena.
Performance history
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The second of Gluck's so-called "reform operas" (after Orfeo ed Euridice), it was first performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 26 December 1767. A heavily revised version with a French libretto by Leblanc du Roullet premiered in Paris on 23 April 1776. The opera is usually given in the revised version, although this is sometimes translated into Italian. Both versions are in three acts. Maria Callas starred as Alceste at La Scala in 1954. The Metropolitan Opera has presented Alceste in three different seasons, with four sopranos starring in a total of eighteen performances. The Met premiere of the opera, on January 24, 1941, featured Marjorie Lawrence. There were four more performances that season, two starring Lawrence and two starring Rose Bampton. In the 1951-52 season, Kirsten Flagstad sang Alceste in five performances, including her farewell performance with the company on April 1, 1952. On December 6, 1960, Eileen Farrell made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Alceste. She sang the role a total of eight times that season. Her final performance of the role, on February 11, 1961, marks the last time to date that the opera has been performed at the Met. The Lyric Opera of Chicago opened its 1990 season with a performance of Alceste starring Jessye Norman. In January through March 2006, Catherine Naglestad appeared in ten performances of Alceste with the Stuttgart State Opera.
Roles
| Role (Italian) |
Role (French) |
Voice type | Italian Premiere Cast December 26, 1767 [1] (Conductor: - ) |
Revised version French Première Cast April 23, 1776, 1884 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alceste (Alcestis) | Alceste | soprano | Antonia Bernasconi | Rosalie Levasseur |
| Admeto (Admetus) | Admète | tenor | Giuseppe Tibaldi | Joseph Le Gros |
| Evandro (Evander) | Evandre | tenor | Pilloni | Tirot |
| Ismene | (No role) | soprano | (No role) | |
| Eumelio and Aspasia, Alcestis's children |
(No role) | trebles | (No role) | |
| (No role) | High Priest | baritone | (No role) | Gélin |
| (No role) | Hercule (Hercules) | baritone | (No role) | Henri Larrivée |
| High Priest / Apollo | Apollon (Apollo) | baritone | Laschi | Moreau |
| Oracle | bass | |||
| Herald | baritone | |||
Recordings
- Alceste (Vienna version) Ringholz/Lavender?Degerfeldt/Treichl, Drottningholm Theatre Chorus and Orchestra, Arnold Östman (Naxos, 1999)
- Alceste (Paris version) Von Otter/Groves/Henschel/Beuron, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner (Philips, 2002)
External links
References
- ^ Roles and premiere cast in part from The New Kobbés Opera Book (1997), Earl of Harewood and Antony Peattie, eds. (G.P. Putnam's Sons: New York).
