Christoph Willibald Gluck - Orphee et Eurydice (1774 tenor version in French) - No. 7. Orpheus among the Blessed Spirits (Richard Croft, Mireille Delunsch, Marion Harousseau & Claire Delgado-Boge; Marc Minkowski)

Though originally set to an Italian libretto, "Orfeo ed Euridice", Gluck's first step in his reform of the operatic form, owes much to the genre of French opera, particularly in its' extensive use of accompanied recitative and a general absence of vocal virtuosity. In fact, it is generally supposed that Gluck frankly took Rameau's "Castor et Pollux" as his model when he sat down to compose "Orfeo": indeed, the plot of the earlier work, in particular, the rescue of Pollux by Castor from the infernal regions, has much in common with that of "Orfeo", so it is possible that Gluck took many hints from Rameau's musical treatment of the various scenes which the two works have in common. Therefore, it seems quite fitting that twelve years after the 1762 premiere of the original work, in 1774, Gluck presented his work to the Parisian public, readapting it, in the process, to suit the tastes of the audience at the Academie Royale de Musique. This reworking was given the title "Orphee et Eurydice" which is the version of this ever well-known piece that I want to present in this series of uploads.

The recording presented here is Minkowski's 2004 live recording of the work with the following cast:

Richard Croft - Orphee,
Mireille Delunsch - Eurydice,
Marion Harousseau - L'Amour,
Claire Delgado-Boge - Une ombre heureuse.

Finally, here is a link to the complete libretto:

http://opera.stanford.edu/iu/libretti...

Hope you'll enjoy :).

No. 11. Scena, Chorus, Dance & Chorus - "Quel nouveau ciel par ces lieux", "Viens dans ce sejour paisible" & "Pres du tendre objet". Orpheus appears in a quasi-recitative of great effect, lost in wonder at the magical beauty of all around him. Here again is a remarkable instance of Gluck's pictorial power, simple as are the means he employs, the effect is extraordinary: the murmuring of streams, the singing of birds, and the placid beauty of the landscape are depicted with a touch which, if light, is infallibly sure. The chorus' answers to his desire are rather traditional but strikingly appropriate to the surroundings and the characters that sing them.

Again, hope you'll enjoy :).

Category:

Music

Tags:

• gluck
• orfeo
• ed
• euridice
• orphee
• et
• eurydice
• classical
• opera
• minkowski
• orpheus
• complete
• version

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who painted these glorious images? he was genius!