Iphigénie en Tauride

About the Event

Enjoy Christoph Willibald Gluck's tragic opera in four acts, with libretto by Nicolas‐François Guillard.

The story of the curse on the family of Tantalus and its tales of vengeance, hatred, sacrifice, deadly entanglements and murder has lost none of its macabre fascination over the centuries. Countless dramatists, authors and composers have chosen to work with the ancient, bleak family drama of the military commander Agamemnon, his wife Clytemnestra and their children Iphigenia, Orestes and Electra. The French libretto written by Nicolas‐François Guillard for Christoph Willibald Gluck’s opera Iphigénie en Tauride and based on Euripides contains great conflict and emotional turmoil.

The premiere of Iphigénie en Tauride in Paris in 1779 gave Gluck the greatest success of his life. It was in this work that the ambitious composer succeeded in executing his ideas for reform in every respect and in giving musical theatre greater authenticity again.

Gluck's approach to the ancient myth is an appeal for the values of humanity; at the same time, he paved the way for modern musical drama with this work.

Performed in French with German surtitles.

 

Harry Bicket, Conductor
Torsten Fischer, Director
Vasilis Triantafillopoulos, Set designer
Andreas Janczyk, Costume designer
Diego Leetz, Light designer

Véronique Gens, Iphigénie
Andrew Schroeder, Thoas
Stéphane Degout, Oreste
Rainer Trost, Pylade
Petra Simková, Prêtresse
Teresa Gardner, Femme grecque

Wiener Symphoniker
Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Chorus master: Erwin Ortner)