The Drottningholm Court Theatre, where this recording was made, has stage machinery from the 18th century that allows for quick scenery changes, moving waves, trap-doors, and wind and thunder apparatus.
Cultural Impact
The Drottningholm Court Theatre, where this album was recorded, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991.
Composition History
Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice was the first result of a collaboration with librettist Ranieri de' Calzabigi and ballet-master Gasparo Angiolini, aiming for a new simplicity and dramatic realism in opera.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Ranieri de' Calzabigi, the librettist for Orfeo ed Euridice, emphasized the relationship between opera and declamation, returning to the form's origins in rhetoric.
Composition History
For the premiere of Orfeo ed Euridice in Vienna in 1762, the role of Orpheus was sung by the castrato Gaetano Guadagni.
Recording & Production
This recording was made live at the Drottningholm Slottsteater in Sweden from June 29th to July 3rd, 1998.
Composer Biography
Christoph Willibald Gluck, the composer, was born in Bohemia in 1714 and studied at the University of Prague before establishing himself as an opera composer in Italy and later Vienna.
