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This is a rare CD in that it allows the listener to explore a seldom-performed version of a great opera that, in whatever its versions, is too little known. Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) first composed Alceste in Vienna in 1767 to a liberetto in Italian by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. This early version of the work included a famous preface(1769) in which Gluck criticized the florid style of operatic composition of his day. He set out to reform opera by creating a music to fit and complement the passion of the text and to realize what he termed a "beautiful simplicity."
Gluck revised Alceste in Paris in 1776 with a French librettist named Roullet. This is the version more frequently heard. In it, Gluck compromised somewhat on the musical creed he articulated in his 1769 Preface to the Vienna version of his opera. The Naxos CD, conducted by Arnold Ostman with the Drottnigholm (Sweden) Theatre Chorus and Orchestra, uses the early Vienna score. It appears to be the only performance of the Vienna score of Alceste currently available on CD.
Gluck's Alceste is based upon the play of Euripides. It tells how Admetus, the King of Sicily, is told of his impending death and of how an oracle states that Admetus will be allowed to live but only if someone steps forward to take his place. Only his wife, Alceste, bravely comes forward.
The opera takes us through a scene in Hades, (Gluck's earlier opera, Orpheus and Eurydice also has a scene in Hades where the male protagonist, Orpheus, charms the forces of Hades to allow his wife to return to life) where Alceste promises to die for her husband. This scene is followed by a tearful parting with Admetus and the couple's two children. At the last moment, Apollo appears, releases Alceste from her vow, and allows both Admetus and Alceste the gift of life.
The story and Gluck's opera celebrates woman's love and the power of love to overcome death. (In some respects, Gluck's operas remind me of Beethoven's Fidelio.) The music is strong, angular, simple, and passionate. True to his announced programme, Gluck's arias are forceful and have immediate appeal. The work also is full of short orchestral interludes and pantomines and opens with a grand overture in the minor key which sets out the tragic nature of the story. Gluck's short overture is a masterpiece in its own right and was among the first operatic overtures in which the composer tried to set the stage for the action which followed.
The leading role of Alceste is performed by American soprano Teresa Ringholz and she performs admirably in this daunting, passionate role. Tenor Justin Lavender sings the part of Admetus, but the performance here belongs to Ms. Ringholz.
This CD offers the listener a wonderful opportunity to get to know Gluck's music and to hear a work that may be unfamiliar to most in its initial version. Gluck's operas remain widely praised but too little performed. This disc will give the listener Alceste in its simplicity and its passion.
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