Alceste (1776)

Original id: 
5913
Start date: 
23 April 1776
Degree of relationship to ancient play: 
Distant relative
Production notes: 
Tragédie opéra. A revision of the 1767 Alceste (ID 5912). With ballets. Act III substantially changed after first performances; the underground scenes with Hercule added. The final divertissement enlarged; completed by Gossec with a few movements after Gluck's departure from Paris. This revised version published in Paris in 1776 and remains in the repertory. Important productions: Paris Opéra (1825), with Caroline Branchu, as Alceste may have influenced Berlioz who saw it and later prepared an Alceste edition for Pauline Viardot in 1861; Weimar 1857 conducted by Liszt; Paris 1920s-1940s and Covent Garden 1937 with Germaine Lubin as Alceste; Glyndebourne 1950s; Metropolitan opera in New York 1952 with Kirsten Flagstad as Alceste; La Scala 1954 with Maria Callas as Alceste, cond. Carlo Maria Giulini (one performance recorded); Edinburgh Festival 1974; Covent Garden 1981 Janet Baker's farewell from stage. Recordings with Jessye Norman and Ethel Semser.
Media of production: 
Opera, musical and related genres
Choreographic work (dance, ballet, mime etc)
Languages: 
French
Companies:
Ancient works:

Information related to this production

Script Author(s)
Alkestis Euripides
Person Role Notes
Christine D'Haen Singer bass, Hercule
Nicolas Gélin (1726-1779) Singer bass, High Priest of Apollo
Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) Composer
Joseph Legros (1739-1793) Singer tenor, Admète
Rosalie Levasseur (1749-1826) Singer soprano, Alceste
Moreau Singer baritone, Apollo
Marie François Louis Gand Leblanc Roullet (1716-1786) Librettist after Calzabigi
Venue Festival Dates Notes
Opéra (Paris, Île-de-France, France) 23 April, 1776

How to cite this production

Alceste (1776), accessed at http://www.apgrd.ox.ac.uk/productions/production/5913 <26 April 2024>