Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; German: [ˈkʁɪstɔf ˈvɪlɪbalt ˈɡlʊk]; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at the time, he gained prominence at the Habsburg court in Vienna. There he brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices for which many intellectuals had been campaigning. With a series of radical new works in the 1760s, among them Orfeo ed Euridice and Alceste, he broke the stranglehold that Metastasian opera seria had enjoyed for much of the century. Gluck introduced more drama by using orchestral recitative and cutting the usually long da capo aria. His later operas have half the length of a typical baroque opera. The strong influence of French opera encouraged Gluck to move to Paris in November 1773. Fusing the traditions of Italian opera and the French (with rich chorus) into a unique synthesis, Gluck wrote eight operas for the Parisian stage. Iphigénie en Tauride (1779) was a great success and is often considered to be his finest work. Though he was extremely popular and widely credited with bringing about a revolution in French opera, Gluck's mastery of the Parisian operatic scene was never absolute. After the poor reception of his Echo et Narcisse (1779), he left Paris in disgust and returned to Vienna to live out the remainder of his life.
Genre: classical, opera
Copyright Verification
- CopyrightID (CopyrightChains tx_hash): 0xf7ac354591d5c8a216b118fc599d52a4a3add5037d6027eaef6b56d05e82444e
- Status: registered
- Registered: 2026-06-12T11:41:47+00:00
- Explorer: https://explorer.copyrightchains.com/tx/0xf7ac354591d5c8a216b118fc599d52a4a3add5037d6027eaef6b56d05e82444e
Top Tracks
- Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30: Dance of the Blessed Spirits "Melody" (Arr. Sgambati for Piano)
- Iphigenie en Aulide, Act II: Gavotte (Arr. J. Brahms)
- Iphigénie en Tauride, Wq. 46 (Excerpts): O Diane, sois-nous propice
- Orfeo et Eurydice: Mélodie for Piano Solo
- Orfeo Ed Euridice: Dance of the Blessed Spirits
- Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice, Act 3: "J'ai perdu mon Eurydice" (Orphée)
- Orphée et Eurydice, Act II, Dance of the Blessed Spirits, Orfeo ed Euridice, Act II: Ballet in F Major - Ballet in D Minor, "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" (Arr. W. Kempff)
- Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30, Act 3: "Che farò senza Euridice" (Orfeo)
- Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30, Act 1: "Ah se intorno a quest'urna funesta" (Coro, Orfeo)
- Orfeo ed Euridice / Act 3: Aria: "Che farò senza Euridice?"
- Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30, Act 3: "Vieni appaga il tuo consorte" (Orfeo, Euridice)
- Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30: Sinfonia
- Alceste: Caprice in G Major
- Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30, Act 1: "Chiamo il mio ben così" (Orfeo)
- Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30, Act 1: "Ah se intorno a quest'urna funesta" (Coro)
- Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30, Act 1: Ballo. Tempo di minuè
- Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30, Act 1: "Basta, basta o compagni" (Orfeo)
- Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30: Dance of the Blessed Spirits (Arranged for Violin & Orchestra)
- Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30, Act 2: "Che puro ciel!" (Orfeo, Coro)
- Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30, Act 1: "Numi, barbari Numi!" (Orfeo)
Full machine-verifiable record (JSON-LD, dual-chain proof): https://artists.proofprofile.net/api/v1/bot/artist/6365