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Alceste (1776) - Christoph Willibald Gluck
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Background
Alceste is the second of Gluck and Calzabigi’s three Italian reform operas. The new simple style, apparent in both the melodic and textual treatment of the drama, is articulated in the well-known preface written by Calzabigi (and signed by Gluck).
The Italian version of the opera premiered on 26 December 1767 at the Viennese Burgtheater. Although the initial production was a success, the work has waned in popularity since the eighteenth century. When Gluck introduced the opera at the Paris Académie Royale de Musique on 23 April 1776, he relied on François Roullet to supply the text, based on Calzabigi’s libretto.
The French version of the opera in the collection contains substantial alterations from the Italian. Some events in the plot are rearranged, and after the premiere, Gluck and Roullet added the character of Hercules at the demands of the French public. Furthermore, Gluck initiated an expansion of the final divertissement, but he soon after departed for Vienna upon the death of his adopted daughter. Gossec was left to complete the music.
While the Italian version has fallen out of favor, the French edition of 1776 (with Gossec’s concluding music) remains familiar today. Many consider the later rendition to be more cohesive, with more human characters. Furthermore, the French version relies exclusively on orchestral recitatives, while the Italian contains occasional instances of secco recitative, in spite of the attack on this practice in the preface.
The captivating account of Alceste’s willingness to sacrifice herself for her husband has appealed to other composers since Euripides first introduced the story. P.A. Ziani constructed a libretto that was used by Aureli for his L’Antigona delusa da Alceste (1660) as well as other composers, including Handel (Admeto, 1727). In 1674, Lully composed Alceste, ou Le triomphe d’Alcide, one of his early operas, on a libretto by Philippe Quinault. A Singspiel (significantly pared down, due to the limitations of performing forces in Weimar, where it was premiered) by Anton Schweitzer, with a text by Christoph Martin Wieland, seemingly rejects the aesthetics of Gluck and Calzabigi, but it also indicates the beginning of a more complex approach to German opera. Yet another opera based on the story of Alcestis combines the Calzabigi text with that of Giuseppi Parini, who made changes to the former’s libretto for a Milanese production. Calzabigi stood by his “nobly simple” drama, refusing to alter it for a performance in Milan; Parini stepped in to make the necessary revisions to satisfy the Italian audience. As the score for Gluck’s opera was not yet published, composer Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi wrote entirely new music for the revised text.
Plot
In the first act, a herald declares that Alceste’s husband Admeto, the King of Thessaly, is on the brink of death with little hope of being saved. However, Admeto’s close friend Evandro believes that the Oracle of Apollo might help Admeto. As Alceste enters, she laments her husband’s impending death with an extended recitative and the aria “Io non Chiedo”/“Grands dieux!” Alceste reiterates the need to plead with the gods to spare her husband before leading the people to the temple. Inside, the High Priest asks the Oracle about Admeto’s fate; Admeto will indeed die unless someone else dies in his place. Alceste secretly decides to give up her own life to save her husband.
Admeto miraculously recovers from his illness in the second act. Evandro informs him that someone else sacrificed his life for the king, and Admeto assumes that a common person has volunteered. He is unaware that his wife had journeyed into the night to offer her life to the Infernal Deity. Alceste is allowed to return to say farewell to her husband, and she eventually tells him of her promise, constantly growing weaker as her end nears.
The Italian and French versions differ in sequence of events throughout Act Three. The timing of Alceste’s death is delayed in the French revision; thus her death is mourned before the gods of the Underworld carry her away. Her necessary sacrifice remains constant in both versions, though, and Admeto struggles with the loss of his wife. In the French version, Hercules—a character who appears in the play by Euripides—brings Alceste back to life, while in the earlier Italian edition, Apollo is responsible for restoring Alceste’s earthly being. However, Apollo still appears in the French version, legitimizing his Oracle and sanctioning the dedication of the people of Thessaly.
Bibliography
Title from title page: ALCESTE / TRAGEDIE / OPERA EN TROIS ACTES
Genre: Tragedia (Italian); Tragédie opéra (French)
Siglum from Gluck thematic catalog: W. 44
Composer: Christoph Willibald Gluck, 1714-1787
Librettist (Italian): Ranieri de’ Calzabigi, 1714-1795
Librettist (French): Marie François Louis Gand LeBlanc Roullet, 1716-1786
Libretto based on: Euripides’s Alceste
Setting: Classical Pherae, Thessaly
Premiere (Italian): Vienna, Burgtheater, 26 December 1767
Premiere (French): Paris, Opéra, 23 April 1776
First published: Paris: Au bureau d’abonnement musical, n.d.
Volume in the UNT Collection: Paris: Au bureau d’abonnement musical, n.d.
For further reading on Alceste, see:
Avant-scène opéra 73: Gluck, Alceste (1985).
Calzabigi, Ranieri De’and Christoph Willibald Gluck. “Preface to Alceste.” In Music and Culture in Eighteenth-Century Europe: A Source Book, ed. Enrico Fubini, 364-66. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994.
Croll, Gerhard. “Glucks Alceste in Wien und Paris.” Osterreichische Musikzeitschrift 48 (1993): 231-36.
Del Monte, Claudio. Christoph Willibald Gluck nel 200’ anniversario della morte. Edited by Vincenzo Raffaele Segreto. Quaderni del Teatro Regio Citta di Parma, no. 19. Parma, Italy: Grafiche, 1987.
Gallarati, Paolo, et al. Alceste di Christoph Willibald Gluck. Genoa: Teatro Comunale dell’Opera, 1987.
Hammelmann, Hanns and Michael Rose. “New Light on Calzabigi and Gluck.” The Musical Times 110 (1969): 609-11.
Hayes, Jeremy. “Alceste (ii).” Grove Music Online, ed. Laura Macy. [Accessed 17 December 2003] <http://www.grovemusic.com>
Hortschansky, Klaus, ed. Christoph Willibald Gluck und die Opernreform, Wege der Forschung, no. 613. Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1989.
Howard, Patricia. “Gluck’s Two Alcestes: A Comparison.” The Musical Times 115 (1974): 642-43.
Rushton, Julian. “In Defence of the French Alceste.” The Musical Times 122 (1981): 738-40.
Physical
Dimensions: 32.8 x 25.2 cm.
Collation: [20: unsigned, 1-222 233 24-392 403 41-482 493 50-522 533 54-692 703]; 149 leaves, pp. [2] 1-293 [294-296] [misprinting 185 as 183, 207 as 219, 223 as 235, 224 as 236].
Conservation: Foxing; stained pages; cover is worn.
Binding: Three-fourths binding with brown leather-covered board and brown buckram spine; gold-stamped cover reads “Hibberd.”
Comments: Copper-plate engraving (plates measure 27 x 20.2 cm); from the Lloyd Hibberd Collection.