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Composer Christoph Willibald Gluck was born July 2, 1714 in Erasbach, Upper Palatinate, Germany. His interest in music was evident from an early age. His father was opposed to a career in music and wanted Gluck to follow in his footsteps and become a forester.
Gluck ran away at age 13 to Prague where he earned his living singing and playing various instruments in orchestras and churches. Gluck had little formal musical training and was almost completely self-taught.
His early career as a musician and composer took him all over Europe, where he played in orchestras and accepted composing commissions. In 1752, at the age of 38, he settled in Vienna, which was to be his home, apart from some extended visits to Paris, for the rest of his life.
He married Maria Anna Bergin, which was advantageous on at least two levels: she was the daughter of a wealthy merchant, and she had connections to the imperial court, which helped Gluck's career.
Another advantageous connection was his friendship with Count Durazzo, an important Viennese theatrical figure who brought French opéra-comique to the city and to Gluck, who had a successful run at composing in that particular style. Durazzo also introduced Gluck to the choreographer Gasparo Angiolini and Ranieri de'Calzabigi, a multi-talented man of theatre and a follower of the French Enlightenment.
The three artists collaborated on a rebellious new ballet of Don Juan (1761), which incorporated more of the French influences they admired. With de'Calzabigi, Gluck would create his three "reform" operas: Orfeo ed Euridice (1762), Alceste (1767) and Paride ed Elena (1770). With the premiere of Orfeo ed Euridice Gluck provided a turning point in the history of opera. This reform aimed to move away from opera seria, doing away with complex plots and overly ornate music that he and his collaborators perceived to be a hindrance to real expression. Instead they sought a noble simplicity in both music and drama.
The continued French influence on his work led Gluck to compose his first serious French opera, Iphigénie en Aulide (1774). This was a triumph when it premiered in Paris, at the Académie Royale, where Gluck was also enjoying the support of a former Vienna pupil of his, Marie-Antoinette, the French dauphine.
The rest of Gluck's career was spent living in Vienna, visiting Paris and composing operas for the French theatre. Highlights of that period include the expanded, French-language version of Orfeo ed Euridice, titled Orphée, a reworking of Alceste and his final masterpiece, Iphigénie en Tauride (1779).
A series of strokes left Gluck too weak to travel, and he spent his last days in Vienna, living in high style right up to his death on Nov. 15, 1787.
Writer and librettist Ranieri de’Calzabigi was born to a respectable family on Dec. 23, 1714, in Livorno, Italy. After his university studies, Calzabigi moved to Naples in 1741 to pursue his literary ambitions, however his early attempts to establish himself as a librettist were unsuccessful.
In 1745, he was commissioned by the French ambassador to Naples, the Marquis d’Hospital, to write a piece for the marriage of the dauphin and the daughter of the King of Spain (L’impero dell’universo diviso con Giove, composed by Gennaro Manna).
In 1747, he wrote Il sogno d’Olimpia to mark the birth of an heir to the Neapolitan throne. His early work was heavily influenced by the opera seria librettist Metastasio, who praised the work, but was critical of the simple diction.
Around 1750, a scandal forced Calzabigi to leave Naples for Paris where he worked as a secretary to the Marquis d’Hospital. Here he began to establish himself and meet influential people, including Casanova.
In 1752 he began a project with Metastasio, producing a critical edition of the latter’s works. However, when the first volume was published, Calzabigi’s views on reforming opera (moving from the aria-focused approach towards the drama of natural expression) became apparent, along with the beginnings of a critical attitude towards Metastasio.
By 1761 Calzabigi was in Vienna, where he was introduced to likeminded reformers Christoph Willibald Gluck and the choreographer Gasparo Angiolini.
Their first collaboration was the ballet Don Juan (1761). Gluck and Calzabigi continued to work together on Orfeo ed Euridice (1762), Alceste (1767) and Paride ed Elena (1770). He also wrote for Gassman and collaborated with Giovanni Gastone Boccherini on comic operas for Salieri (Le donne letterate and L’amour innocente, both set in 1770).
Calzabigi left Vienna in 1772, living in various locations before returning to Naples in 1780, where he died in July 1795.
Lawrence Zazzo as Orfeo and Isabel Bayrakdarian as Euridice in the Canadian Opera Company production of Orfeo ed Euridice. Photo Credit: © 2011 Michael Cooper.