Iphigénie en Tauride (Iphigenia in Tauris)

by Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714 - 1687).
Tragédie in four acts. 1779.
German version, 1781.
Libretto by Nicolas-François Guillard, after the play of Guymond de la Touche, based on Euripides. First performance at the Paris Opéra on 18th May 1779.

CHARACTERS

Iphigénie (Iphigenia), priestess of Diana, soprano
Oreste (Orestes), her brother, King of Argos and Mycenae, baritone
Pylades, his friend, King of Phocis, tenor
Thoas, King of Tauris, bass
Diana, soprano

The Story

In a storm Iphigenia, now a priestess of the goddess Diana, recalls the misfortunes of her family, the murder of her father Agamemnon by her mother Clytemnestra, later killed by Orestes. Thoas, anxious after the storm, calls for human sacrifice to ward off evil, suggesting as victims two Greeks, stranded on the shore. In the temple of Diana the two are held for sacrifice, Orestes haunted by guilt, while Pylades expresses his friendship. Without revealing his identity, Orestes tells Iphigenia of the fate of Agamemnon and his family, claiming that only one daughter survives, Electra. Iphigenia tries to prevent the sacrifice, detecting in him a resemblance to her brother. She sends a letter to Electra, which Pylades is persuaded to take. She is about to sacrifice Orestes, when she recognises him as her brother, and she and her priestesses acknowledge him as king. Pylades now returns to save the day and Thoas, who has still demanded sacrifice, is killed. The statue of Diana is now restored to the Greeks.

About the Opera

The sixth of Gluck's operas for Paris, Iphigénie en Tauride, opens with a remarkable overture, the opening calm leading to a storm and the voice of the priestess Iphigenia in supplication. This follows Gluck's principle of providing an overture that should give audiences an idea of what is to follow. The setting, in Scythia, allows the introduction of 'Turkish' music at the end of the first act, while Orestes has an important mad scene at the beginning of the second act. Iphigenia prays to Diana in O toi qui prolongeas mes jours (O you who prolonged my life), while the presentiments of Thoas allow him the aria De noirs pressentiments (Dark presentiments). Iphigenia's reaction to the words of Orestes, claiming that he too is dead, in the second act are heard in O malheureuse Iphigénie (O unhappy Iphigenia). The declaration of friendship by Pylades offers the second act Unis dès la plus tendre enfance (United from tenderest childhood). A rival version of the story, by Niccolò Piccinni, was staged in Paris in 1781 with some success, but has long been eclipsed by Gluck's treatment of the subject.