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Écho et Narcisse - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cover page of a 1779 edition of the opera's score

Écho et Narcisse (Echo and Narcissus) is a 1779 drame lyrique in three acts, the last original opera written by Christoph Willibald Gluck, his sixth for the French stage. The libretto, written by Louis-Théodore de Tschudi, tells the story of the love between Echo and Narcissus.

Performance history

Écho et Narcisse was first performed on 24 September 1779 by the Paris Opéra in the second Salle du Palais-Royal. The opera is in the pastoral tradition, a genre not in favor at the Opéra at the time,^[1] and it was a failure, discontinued after only 12 performances. Gluck decided to go back to Vienna and never returned to Paris. He revised the work for 8 August 1780, but this version only enjoyed nine performances.

A third version was presented to the public on 8 June 1781. This was better received. However, it was infrequently produced until René Jacobs revived it in 1987 at the Schwetzingen Festival. Jacobs used the revised version as the original one has not survived, except for the libretto.

Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role	Voice type	Premiere cast, 24 September 1779^[2]
Écho, a nymph, ruler of the woods and waters	soprano	Mlle Beaumesnil
Aglaé, a nymph, friend of Écho	soprano	Adelaïde Gavaudan 'cadette'
Eglé, a nymph, friend of Écho	soprano	Anne-Marie-Jeanne Gavaudan, 'L'aînée'
Amour (Cupid)	soprano	Gertrude Girardin
Narcisse, a hunter, son of Cephisus	haute-contre	Étienne Lainez
Cynire, friend of Narcisse	haute-contre	Joseph Legros
Sylphie, a nymph	soprano
Thanais, a nymph	soprano
Two sylvans	bass haute-contre	Auguste-Athanase (Augustin) Chéron Jean-Joseph Rousseau [it]^[3]
Sylphs, Zephyrs and attendants and followers of Amour, Écho and Narcisse.
Ballet^[4] – ballerinas: Marie-Madeleine Guimard, Anne Heinel, Marie Allard, Peslin; male dancers: Gaetano Vestris, Auguste Vestris, Maximilien Gardel, Jean D'Auberval

Synopsis

The nymph Écho is loved by Narcisse, but also desired by Apollo. Apollo puts a spell on Narcisse so he falls in love with his own reflection, but Cupid is eventually successful in securing a happy ending by re-uniting Écho and Narcisse.

References

Notes

^ Rushton 2001, p. 327.
^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Écho et Narcisse, 24 September 1779". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
^ Gustave Chouquet, Histoire de la musique dramatique en France depuis ses origines jusqu'à nos jours, Paris, Firmin Didot, 1873, p. 362 (online Gallica)
^ Lajarte, 1878, p. 312

Sources

Lajarte, Théodore, "Écho et Narcisse", Bibliothèque Musicale du Théatre de l'Opéra. Catalogue Historique, Chronologique, Anecdotique, Paris, Librairie des bibliophiles, 1878, pp. 311–312, vol. I (in French)
Rushton, Julian (2001). "Christoph Willibald Gluck", pp. 313–327, in The New Penguin Opera Guide, edited by Amanda Holden. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140514759.

External links

Écho et Narcisse (Gluck): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Libretto (French)
Score

v t e Christoph Willibald Gluck
List of operas List of compositions
Operas	Demofoonte (1743) Ipermestra (1744) La caduta de' giganti (1746) Le nozze d'Ercole e d'Ebe (1747) La Semiramide riconosciuta (1748) Ezio (1750) La clemenza di Tito (1752) Le cinesi (1754) La danza (1755) L'innocenza giustificata (1755) Antigono (1756) Il re pastore (1756) La fausse esclave (1758) La Cythère assiégée (1759) L'île de Merlin (1758) Le diable à quatre (1759) L'arbre enchanté (1759) L'ivrogne corrigé (1760) Tetide (1760) Le cadi dupé (1761) Orfeo ed Euridice (1762) Il trionfo di Clelia (1763) La rencontre imprévue (1764) Il Parnaso confuso (1765) Telemaco (1765) La corona (1765, unperformed in his lifetime) Alceste (1767) Le feste d'Apollo (1769) Paride ed Elena (1770) Iphigénie en Aulide (1774) Armide (1777) Iphigénie en Tauride (1779) Écho et Narcisse (1779)
Ballet	Don Juan
Related	Alfred Wotquenne Chaconne
Category

v t e Echo and Narcissus from Ovid's Metamorphoses
Characters	Echo Narcissus
Operas	Amor d'un'ombra e gelosia d'un'aura (1714) Écho et Narcisse (1779)
Art	Narcissus at the Fountain (Boltraffio, 1500–10) Narcissus (Boltraffio follower, 1500) Narcissus (Caravaggio, 1597–99) Echo and Narcissus (Poussin, 1627–28) Narcissus (Lemoyne, 1728) Echo and Narcissus (Waterhouse, 1903) Metamorphosis of Narcissus (Dali, 1937)
Film	Narcissus (1983 film) Narcissus (2012 film)
Music	Narcissus (1891)
Related	Narcissism

Categories:

Hidden categories:

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	France BnF data
Other	MusicBrainz work

Performance history

Roles

Synopsis

References

Further reading

External links