Christoph Willibald Gluck (jun 1, 1714 – nov 1, 1787)
Description:
Noble Simplicity—Christoph Willibald Gluck1. Gluck also instituted reform in opera, but in a manner very different from Piccinni.
a. Gluck saw himself returning to ancient ways of presenting drama.
b. His first opera in this vein was based on the story of Orpheus, just as the first
operas had been.
1) The music does not include standard operatic fireworks such as coloratura.
2) When Orpheus turns back to Eurydice, he does so to reassure her, not out of his own weakness. This represents Enlightenment ideals of noble self-sacrifice.
2. Gluck may have been accepted for his challenges to both Italian and French typical
conventions because he was from Austrian Bohemia.
3. Gluck kept aspects associated with aristocratic values.
4. All of the recitative in Orfeo ed Euridice is accompanied, which signals a move away
from basso continuo. He also abandons the da capo aria.
5. Gluck was successful in attracting others to his ideals: Even Rousseau noted he had
been able to make a French opera natural.
6. Ultimately, Enlightenment composers sought to represent humanity.
Added to timeline:
Date:
jun 1, 1714
nov 1, 1787
~ 73 years