Echo et Narcisse

Echo 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.

The cover page of a 1779 edition of the opera's score

Performance history

Echo 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
Role Voice type Premiere Cast, 24 September 1779
(Conductor: - )
Echo, a nymph, ruler of the woods and waters soprano Mlle Beaumesnil (born Henriette Adélaïde de Villars)
Aglaé, a nymph, friend of Echo soprano Adelaïde Gavaudan 'cadette'
Eglé, a nymph, friend of Echo 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[2]
Sylphs, Zephyrs and attendants and followers of Amour, Echo and Narcisse.
Ballet[3] - ballerinas: Marie-Madeleine Guimard, Anne Heinel, Marie Allard, Peslin; male dancers: Gaetano Vestris, Auguste Vestris, Maximilien Gardel, Jean D'Auberval

Synopsis

The nymph Echo 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 Echo and Narcisse.

gollark: <@258639553357676545> else thinks I am.
gollark: Rust rust rust, Rust rust rust rust rust rust rust rust.
gollark: ```RUSTU SS UTSUR```
gollark: <@196639050126327809> what did I do?
gollark: No, really. They have books in them. Literature is books. QED.

References

Notes

  1. Rushton 2001, p. 327.
  2. Gustave Chouquet, Histoire de la musique dramatique en France depuis ses origines jusqu'à nos jours, Paris, Firmin Didot, 1873, p. 362 (accessible for free online at Gallica - B.N.F.).
  3. Lajarte, 1878, p. 312

Sources

  • (in Italian) Amadeus Almanac, accessed 1 February 2010
  • Hayes, Jeremy (1992), 'Echo et Narcisse' in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
  • (in French) Lajarte, Théodore, Bibliothèque Musicale du Théatre de l'Opéra. Catalogue Historique, Chronologique, Anecdotique, Paris, Librairie des bibliophiles, 1878, Tome I (accessible online at Internet Archive)
  • Rushton, Julian (2001). "Christoph Willibald Gluck", pp. 313–327, in The New Penguin Opera Guide, edited by Amanda Holden. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140514759.
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