.gif)
Armide (Gluck)
Encyclopedia
Armide is an opera
by Christoph Willibald Gluck
, his fifth for the Parisian stage and the composer's own favourite among his works. It was first performed in Paris at the Académie Royale
on 23 September 1777.
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.
The first modern revival of Armide was presented at the Opéra Bastille
in 1905 with Lucienne Bréval
in the title role. Other cast members included Alice Verlet
, Agustarello Affré
, Dinh Gilly
, and Geneviève Vix
.
For the storyline, see Armide
by Lully
. Gluck kept the libretto unchanged, although he cut the allegorical prologue and added a few lines of his own devising to the end of Act Three. Similarly, the roles and the disposition of the voices are the same as in Lully's opera.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
by Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck was an opera composer of the early classical period. After many years at the Habsburg court at Vienna, Gluck brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices that many intellectuals had been campaigning for over the years...
, his fifth for the Parisian stage and the composer's own favourite among his works. It was first performed in Paris at the Académie Royale
Académie Royale de Musique
The Salle Le Peletier was the home of the Paris Opera from 1821 until the building was destroyed by fire in 1873. The theatre was designed and constructed by the architect François Debret on the site of the former Hôtel de Choiseul...
on 23 September 1777.
Gluck set the same libretto Philippe Quinault
Philippe Quinault
Philippe Quinault , French dramatist and librettist, was born in Paris.- Biography :Quinault was educated by the liberality of François Tristan l'Hermite, the author of Marianne. Quinault's first play was produced at the Hôtel de Bourgogne in 1653, when he was only eighteen...
had written for Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...
in 1686, based on Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...
's Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso first published in 1581, which tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Catholic knights, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, battle Muslims in order to take Jerusalem...
). 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
Thésée
Thésée is an opera with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and a libretto by Philippe Quinault based on Ovid's Metamorphoses first performed at Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 11 January 1675.-Roles:-Synopsis:...
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
Niccolò Piccinni
Niccolò Piccinni was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure, even to music lovers today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly the Neapolitan opera buffa—of his day...
followed his example with Roland
Roland (Lully)
Roland is an opera with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and a libretto by Philippe Quinault first performed at Versailles on January 8, 1685. The story is derived from Ariosto's epic poem Orlando Furioso...
in 1778 and Atys
Atys (Lully)
Atys is a tragédie en musique in a prelude and five acts by Jean-Baptiste Lully to a French-language libretto by Philippe Quinault based on Ovid's Fasti. It was premiered at the royal court in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, January 10, 1676...
in 1780; in the same year, Philidor
François-André Danican Philidor
François-André Danican Philidor , often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess player. He contributed to the early development of the opéra comique...
produced a new Persée
Persée
Persée is a tragédie lyrique with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and a libretto by Philippe Quinault, first performed in 1682 at the Paris Opéra.-Roles:-Synopsis:...
; and Gossec offered his version of Thésée
Thésée
Thésée is an opera with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and a libretto by Philippe Quinault based on Ovid's Metamorphoses first performed at Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 11 January 1675.-Roles:-Synopsis:...
in 1782. Gluck himself is said to have been working on an opera based on Roland
Roland (Lully)
Roland is an opera with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and a libretto by Philippe Quinault first performed at Versailles on January 8, 1685. The story is derived from Ariosto's epic poem Orlando Furioso...
, but he abandoned it when he heard Piccinni had taken on the same libretto.
The first modern revival of Armide was presented at the Opéra Bastille
Opéra Bastille
L'Opéra Bastille ' is a modern opera house in Paris, France. It is the home base of the Opéra national de Paris and was designed to replace the Palais Garnier, which is nowadays mainly used for ballet performances....
in 1905 with Lucienne Bréval
Lucienne Bréval
Lucienne Bréval was a Swiss dramatic soprano who had a major international opera career from 1892-1918...
in the title role. Other cast members included Alice Verlet
Alice Verlet
Alice Verlet was a Belgian-born operatic coloratura soprano active primarily in France. She sang principal roles at the operas in Lyon, Nice, and Monte Carlo; at His Majesty's Theater in London; at La Monnaie in Brussels; and at the Paris Opéra and Opéra-Comique...
, Agustarello Affré
Agustarello Affré
Agustarello Affré was a French operatic tenor. He possessed a powerful and firm voice which garnered him the nickname the "French Tamagno" in comparison to the great Italian tenor. He was one of the leading operatic tenors in Paris from 1890-1911. He spent the last years of his career singing and...
, Dinh Gilly
Dinh Gilly
Dinh Gilly was a French-Algerian operatic baritone and teacher.-Biography:He studied in Toulouse, Rome and at the Paris Conservatoire, where he won a premier prix in 1902. That same year he made his debut at the Paris Opera as Silvio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci...
, and Geneviève Vix
Geneviève Vix
Geneviève Vix née Brouwer was a French soprano. She was a descendant of the Dutch painter Adriaen Brouwer.-Life and career:...
.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 23 September 1777 (Conductor) |
|---|---|---|
| Armide, a sorceress, Princess of Damascus Damascus Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major... |
soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Rosalie Levasseur Rosalie Levasseur Rosalie Levasseur or Le Vasseur was a French soprano. Known as 'Mlle Rosalie', she is best remembered for her work with the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck.... |
| Renaud, a Crusader | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Joseph Legros Joseph Legros Joseph Legros was a French singer and composer of the 18th century. He is best remembered for his association with the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck... |
| Phénice, Armide's confidant | soprano | M.lle LeBourgeois |
| Sidonie, Armide's confidant | soprano | M.lle Châteauneuf |
| Hidraot, a magician, King of Damascus |
baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Nicolas Gélin |
| Hate | contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above... |
Céleste [Célestine] Durancy |
| The Danish Knight, a Crusader | tenor | Étienne Lainez (also spelled Lainé) |
| Ubalde, a Crusader | baritone | Henri Larrivée |
| A demon in the form of Lucinde, the Danish Knight's beloved |
soprano | Anne-Marie-Jeanne Gavaudan "l'aînée" |
| A demon in the form of Mélisse, Ubalde's beloved |
soprano | Antoinette Cécile de Saint-Huberty |
| Aronte, in charge of Armide's prisoners |
baritone | Georges Durand |
| Artémidore, a Crusader | tenor | Thirot |
| A naiad Naiad In Greek mythology, the Naiads or Naiades were a type of nymph who presided over fountains, wells, springs, streams, and brooks.... |
soprano | Anne-Marie-Jeanne Gavaudan "l'aînée" |
| A shepherdess | soprano | Antoinette Cécile de Saint-Huberty |
| A pleasure | soprano | Antoinette Cécile de Saint-Huberty |
| people of Damascus, nymphs, shepherds and shepherdesses, suite of Hate, demons, Pleasures, coryphaei | ||
Synopsis
Armide (Lully)
Armide is an opera by Jean-Baptiste Lully. The libretto was written by Philippe Quinault, based on Torquato Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata .Critics in the 18th century regarded Armide as Lully's masterpiece...
by Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...
. Gluck kept the libretto unchanged, although he cut the allegorical prologue and added a few lines of his own devising to the end of Act Three. Similarly, the roles and the disposition of the voices are the same as in Lully's opera.
Recordings
- Armide: Armide (Mireille DelunschMireille DelunschMireille Delunsch is an opera soprano. She was born in Mulhouse, France, and studied musicology and voice at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg. Her debut was at the Opéra du Rhin in Mulhouse, in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov....
), Renaud (Charles WorkmanCharles H. WorkmanCharles H. Workman was a singer and actor best known as a successor to George Grossmith in the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas. He was sometimes credited as C. Herbert Workman or C. H...
), La Haine (Ewa PodlesEwa PodlesEwa Podleś is an internationally celebrated Polish coloratura contralto with a very wide vocal range and great vocal agility....
), Hidraot (Laurent NaouriLaurent NaouriLaurent Naouri is a French bass-baritone. Initially beginning his education at the École Centrale de Lyon, Naouri decided to concentrate on opera in 1986 and continued his musical studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.His professional career in France began in 1992 with...
); Les Musiciens du LouvreLes Musiciens du LouvreLes Musiciens du Louvre is a French period instrument ensemble, formed in 1982. Originally based in Paris, since 1996 it has been based in the Couvent des Minimes in Grenoble. The Guardian considers it one of the best orchestras in the world.- History:Founded by Marc Minkowski in 1982, the...
, Marc MinkowskiMarc MinkowskiMarc Minkowski is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works. His mother is American, and his father was Alexandre Minkowski, a Polish-French professor of pediatrics and one of the founders of neonatology...
(Deutsche Grammophon Archiv, 1999)
External links
(French)Sources
- Earl of Harewood and Antony Peattie, eds., The New Kobbés Opera Book, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1997 (ISBN 0091814103) Théodore de Lajarte, Bibliothèque Musicale du Théatre de l'Opéra. Catalogue Historique, Chronologique, Anecdotique, Parigi, Librairie des bibliophiles, 1878, Tome I (accessible for free on-line in scribd.com – accessed 20 February 2011, ad nomen, pp. 290-293)
- Spire Pitou, The Paris Opéra. An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers – Rococo and Romantic, 1715-1815, Greenwood Press, Westport/London, 1985 (ISBN 0-313-24394-8)
- Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Grove (Oxford University Press), New York, 1997 (ISBN 978-0-19-522186-2)