Glucks Reformopern in der Gustavianischen Epoche : Eine Repertoirestudie im Kontext europäischer Hoftheater in der zweiten Hälfte des 18.Jahrhunderts

• This thesis is to be understood as an analysis in which the first-night opera repertoires at four European court-theatres are discussed and compared during a period of approximately twenty years (from 1771 to 1792) corresponding to the rule of Gustav III of Sweden.The study focuses on Christoph Willibald Gluck's reform-operas Orfeo ed Euridice, Alceste, Iphigénie en Aulide, Iphigénie en Tauride and Armide, the same five Gluck-operas which after Gustav III had had them introduced at his newly-founded Royal Opera came to constitute an essential part of the Gustavian Opera's repertoire.Apart from the Royal Opera in Stockholm, the Imperial Court-Theatres in Vienna, the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris and the Tsarist Court-Theatres in St.Petersburg together with the Counts of Chérémétief's private theatres in Kouskovo and Ostankino are dealt with in the present study. This clearly demonstrates that each repertoire bears immanent features due to traditional, cultural and political influences granting Gluck's reform-operas acclaimed reception or not. In order to locate Gluck's status and that of his reform-works in the above mentioned theatres, it was considered essential to carry out empirical investigations elucidating the politico-cultural situation in the respective countries. Attention was explicitly directed to characterizing the individual personalities of the monarchs who, ruling as enlightened despots, to a certain extent used opera as a tool in order to influence public opinion.The appendix provides a description of the musical sources – covering the score, instrumental and vocal parts – for the first night performances of Alceste in 1781 and Iphigénie en Tauride in 1783, as well as of the stage design dating from 1809/10 – of the five relevant reform-operas at the Stockholm Royal Opera. Furthermore the descriptive records of the composition of the orchestra, chorus and ballet of the same performances are included.

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Musikvetenskap (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Musicology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Musicology

Sweden

Gustavian Opera

18th century opera history

first night opera-repertoire

European Court theatres

Christoph Willibald Gluck

reform-operas

Musikvetenskap

Music

Musikvetenskap

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

dok (subject category)