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Iphigénie en Tauride (Piccinni)
Encyclopedia
Iphigénie en Tauride is a tragédie lyrique in four acts by Niccolò Piccinni
, which was first performed at the Académie royale de musique
(the Paris
Opéra) on January 23, 1781. The opera
's libretto
, by Alphonse du Congé Dubreuil, is based on a play of the same name by Claude Guimond de la Touche, although the ultimate source was the tragedy
Iphigeneia in Tauris
by Euripides
.
Iphigénie en Tauride marked the climax of the quarrel between the supporters of Piccinni and those of Christoph Willibald Gluck
. Piccinni had been brought to Paris in the mid-1770s as a rival to the German composer, who had already had great success with his operas there.
Arguments about the respective merits of their heroes raged between "Gluckists" and "Piccinnists", although the composers themselves showed less enthusiasm for the fight. When Gluck learned that Piccinni was setting the same libretto to Roland
as he was, he abandoned work on his score. For his part, Piccinni was an admirer of Gluck's music and was reluctant to challenge him. Nevertheless, in 1778 the director of the Paris Opéra, De Vismes du Valgay, finally succeeded in arranging a direct confrontation when he persuaded both composers to write an opera on the same story, but not the same libretto: Iphigénie en Tauride.
Piccinni accepted on condition that his version was staged first. In the event, problems with the quality of the libretto (and, possibly, backstage political manoeuvrings) meant that Gluck's opera was the first to receive its premiere in May, 1779. Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride
was immediately acclaimed as a masterpiece. The success of his rival caused Piccinni to delay his own opera even further and it was not until a year and a half later that it was finally presented to a Parisian audience. The reaction was lukewarm, although a revival in 1785 was received more favourably.
{| class="wikitable"
!Role
!Voice type
!Premiere Cast, January 23, 1781
(Conductor: Jean-Baptiste Rey
)
|-
|Iphigénie (Iphigeneia
), Priestess of Diana
|soprano
|Marie-Joséphine Laguerre
|-
|Oreste (Orestes
)
|baritone
|Henri Larrivée
|-
|Pylade (Pylades
)
|haute-contre
|Joseph Legros
|-
|Thoas, King of Scythia
|baritone
|François Laÿs
|-
|Diane (Diana
)
|soprano
|Anne-Marie-Jeanne Gavaudan
|-
|Elise
|soprano
|Alexandrine-Adelaïde Gavaudan-Joinville
|-
|Prêtre (priest)
|tenor
|Étienne Lainez
|-
|}
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...
, which was first performed at the Académie royale de musique
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...
(the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
Opéra) on January 23, 1781. The 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...
's libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
, by Alphonse du Congé Dubreuil, is based on a play of the same name by Claude Guimond de la Touche, although the ultimate source was the tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
Iphigeneia in Tauris
Iphigeneia in Tauris
Iphigenia in Tauris is a drama by the playwright Euripides, written between 414 BC and 412 BC. It has much in common with another of Euripides's plays, Helen, and is often described as a romance, a melodrama or an escape play.-Background:...
by Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
.
Background
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...
. Piccinni had been brought to Paris in the mid-1770s as a rival to the German composer, who had already had great success with his operas there.
Arguments about the respective merits of their heroes raged between "Gluckists" and "Piccinnists", although the composers themselves showed less enthusiasm for the fight. When Gluck learned that Piccinni was setting the same libretto to Roland
Roland (Piccinni)
Roland is a tragédie lyrique in three acts by the composer Niccolò Piccinni. The opera was a new setting of a libretto written by Philippe Quinault for Jean-Baptiste Lully in 1685, specially adapted for Piccinni by Jean-François Marmontel...
as he was, he abandoned work on his score. For his part, Piccinni was an admirer of Gluck's music and was reluctant to challenge him. Nevertheless, in 1778 the director of the Paris Opéra, De Vismes du Valgay, finally succeeded in arranging a direct confrontation when he persuaded both composers to write an opera on the same story, but not the same libretto: Iphigénie en Tauride.
Piccinni accepted on condition that his version was staged first. In the event, problems with the quality of the libretto (and, possibly, backstage political manoeuvrings) meant that Gluck's opera was the first to receive its premiere in May, 1779. Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride
Iphigénie en Tauride
Iphigénie en Tauride is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck in four acts. It was his fifth opera for the French stage. The libretto was written by Nicolas-François Guillard....
was immediately acclaimed as a masterpiece. The success of his rival caused Piccinni to delay his own opera even further and it was not until a year and a half later that it was finally presented to a Parisian audience. The reaction was lukewarm, although a revival in 1785 was received more favourably.
Roles
!Role
!Voice type
!Premiere Cast, January 23, 1781
(Conductor: Jean-Baptiste Rey
Jean-Baptiste Rey
Jean-Baptiste Rey was a French conductor and composer.Rey was born at Lauzerte. He remains the longest-serving conductor of the Paris Opera; his tenure spans from the last years of the monarchy to Napoleon's Empire...
)
|-
|Iphigénie (Iphigeneia
Iphigeneia
Iphigenia is a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology. In Attic accounts, her name means "strong-born", "born to strength", or "she who causes the birth of strong offspring."-Post-Homeric Greek myth:...
), Priestess of Diana
|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...
|Marie-Joséphine Laguerre
|-
|Oreste (Orestes
Orestes (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Orestes was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and purification, which retain obscure threads of much older ones....
)
|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...
|Henri Larrivée
|-
|Pylade (Pylades
Pylades
In Greek mythology, Pylades is the son of King Strophius of Phocis and of Anaxibia, daughter of Atreus and sister of Agamemnon and Menelaus. He is mostly known for his strong friendship with his cousin Orestes, son of Agamemnon.-Orestes and Pylades:...
)
|haute-contre
Haute-contre
The haute-contre is a rare type of high tenor voice, predominant in French Baroque and Classical opera until the latter part of the eighteenth century.-History:...
|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...
|-
|Thoas, King of Scythia
Scythia
In antiquity, Scythian or Scyths were terms used by the Greeks to refer to certain Iranian groups of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who dwelt on the Pontic-Caspian steppe...
|baritone
|François Laÿs
|-
|Diane (Diana
Diana (mythology)
In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt and moon and birthing, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy...
)
|soprano
|Anne-Marie-Jeanne Gavaudan
|-
|Elise
|soprano
|Alexandrine-Adelaïde Gavaudan-Joinville
|-
|Prêtre (priest)
|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...
|Étienne Lainez
|-
|}
Synopsis
The plot is very similar to that of Gluck's opera. The main difference is that in Piccinni's version King Thoas is in love with Iphigénie and is consequently a less "barbaric" character.Recording
- Iphigénie en Tauride, Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro PetruzzelliTeatro PetruzzelliThe Teatro Petruzzelli is the largest theatre of the city of Bari and the fourth Italian theatre by size.-The birth and the golden age:The history of the Teatro Petruzzelli of Bari begins when Onofrio and Antonio Petruzzelli, traders and ship builders of Trieste presented the design of the theatre...
, BariBariBari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
, conducted by Donato Renzetti (Fonit Cetra, 1986) (a recording of the first modern revival)