Gluck’s fascination

The heroine of Euripides is the protagonist of many operas and theatrical versions, including Gluck who composed his Iphigénie en Aulide shortly before this opera. He was fascinated by mythology and classical literature, but above all, by the characters of the Trojan War. What would Greek tragedy have been like without them? And what about our European mythology?

Iphigenia is condemned by her father, Agamemnon, to be sacrificed, as required by the Oracle. Saved by the goddess Artemis and taken to Tauris, she becomes a priestess at the temple of her protector. There, she will have the power to save -not knowing who he is- her brother Oreste, thereby disobeying King Thoas who wants to appease the anger of the Olympus. A story of misunderstandings and challenges which the gods cheered on as a game, Iphigénie en Tauride, is the last great work of the German maestro. It premiered in Paris in 1779 with a libretto by the Frenchman Nicolas-François Guillard. It is said that the work was a commission by the director of the French opera who, at the same time, also assigned the task to Niccoló Piccinni to encourage a rivalry between the two composers. The German’s opera was a success from the first moment whereas the Italian’s piece was hardly noticed.

An international production of the Teatro de la Maestranza, with staging by Rafael R. Villalobos, one of the most applauded professionals from Sevilla on the world circuit. Brilliant Greek conductor Zoe Zeniodi leads the orchestra pit. Returning to our stage will be mezzosoprano Raffaella Lupinacci (Iphigenia), who we greatly enjoyed in the role of Adalgisa in Norma last season, and baritone Edward Nelson (Oreste), who performed a masterly interpretation of Debussy’s character Pelléas at this theatre in 2022. It will be the first time that this masterpiece of the opera reform period, undertaken by Christoph Willlibald Gluck, comes to the stage of the Maestranza.