Introduction
In the middle of the 18th century, opera seria seemed to be remarkable in its style, perfection of form, and the logic of the development of dramatic plots. However, with all these advantages, it was becoming stereotyped, and eventually, it came into conflict with the trends of the general culture of that time. The crisis of the genre was getting more and more evident. The idea of reformation of the opera genre was in the air, but the completeness of the formed style of opera seria made it enclosed. The man who embodied those ideas was C.W. Gluck. Thus, Gluck’s compositions can be viewed as the highest manifestation of aesthetics of Classicism, and his reformist ideas determined the further development of the opera genre.
The biographic information
Christoph Willibald Gluck was born in the village of Erasbach, Bavaria, in 1714. Gluck grew up in the family of a forester. He showed affection to music at an early age, and, as it is assumed, he received his musical education at home. The father did not want his son to become a musician, and it is likely to be the reason why Gluck left home and moved to Prague. There, he studied music and philosophy, earning a living as a performer in the choir and street musician.
Though as a musician he remained basically self-taught, he was noticed and invited as a chamber musician in the princely house in Vienna in 1735. A year or two later, he moved to Milan to work in a private chapel. There, in the homeland of the opera, he became acquainted with the creation of the greatest masters of this genre. At that time, in his musical studies, he was guided by Giovanni Sammartini. Under his leadership, the basis of his further creation was obtained.
The premiere of his first opera seria “Artaserse” took place in 1741 in Milan. It was a success, so Gluck received many orders afterward. His further operas, such as “Demetrius”, “Demofont”, “Hypermnestra”, “Por”, were no less successful. Thereafter Gluck moved to London and toured extensively around Europe. In the years of 1752-1770, he settled in Vienna. In that period of time, Gluck’s acquaintance with librettist Calzabigi took place. Their collaboration was very successful from the very beginning and turned out into such masterpieces as Don Juan (1761), Orfeo et Euridice (1762), et al (Jessiemelodyworld, 2013). However, they did not receive wide acceptance. The value of his later works was appreciated only many years after. According to Schneeman “Studies of Berlioz’s writings provide us with an excellent understanding of his admiration of Gluck’s music but give us the impression that Berlioz was alone in his appreciation of Gluck’s operas throughout the 19th century” (Schneeman, 2013).
Innovations in the composer’s work
Gluck was an innovator in the music of the 18th century as his reformation of opera was aimed to achieve harmony between music and drama, to subordinate development of the plot to the development of music theme. According to P. Howard “Gluck’s influence, which can be traced in details of the method, mood, and orchestration in Mozart’s operas and in an approach to large-scale structure in Berlioz and Wagner” (Howard, 2016).
He believed that spectacular effects should be sacrificed for simplicity and naturalness, and all the constituent parts of the opera performance should be logically connected and serve the main idea of a composition.
Conclusion
C.W. Gluck was an outstanding musician, whose ideas were far ahead of time and had a great impact on the development of the opera genre and music in general. The best of his works are represented in the operatic repertoire worldwide, and his music captivates listeners with its simplicity and expressiveness.
References
Howard, P. (2013). Christoph Willibald Gluck. London, England: Routledge, 11.
Jessiemelodyworld. (2013). Christoph Willibald Gluck – Dance of the blessed spirits(from ‘Orpheus and Eurydice’). YouTube.
Schneeman, E. (2013). The German reception of Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck in the early nineteenth century. Los Angeles, CA: University of Southern California, 3.