GLUCK Christoph Willibald (Gluck Christoph Willibald)

(1714-1787)
Born July 2, 1714 in Erasbahe (Bayern Munich), the family gamekeeper, Gluck's ancestors came from northern Bohemia and lived on the lands of Prince Lobkowicz. Gluck was three years old when the family returned home, he studied at schools and Kamnitsa Albersdorf. In 1732 he went to Prague, where, apparently, listened to lectures at the university, earning a living by singing in church choirs and playing the violin and cello. According to some reports, he took lessons from the Czech composer B. Montenegrin (1684-1742).
In 1736 Gluck arrived in Vienna in the retinue of Prince Lobkowicz, but in the next year moved to the chapel of the Italian Prince Melzi, and after him went to Milan. Here Gluck in the three years studied composition with the greatest master of chamber music genres Dzh.B.Sammartini (1698-1775), and at the end of 1741 was held in Milan premiere of Gluck's first opera Artaxerxes (Artaserse). Then he led a life common to successful Italian composer, ie. continuously composing operas and pastichcho (opera performances in which music is made up of fragments of various operas, one or several authors). In 1745, Gluck was accompanied by Prince Lobkowicz on his journey to London, their path lay through Paris, where Gluck first heard opera JF Rameau (1683-1764) and commended. In London, Gluck met with the Handel and T. Arnom, . put two of its pastichcho (one of them, . The fall of giants, . La Caduta dei Giganti, . - A play on the topic of the day: it is about the suppression of Jacobite uprising), . gave a concert, . which played the glass harmonica own design, . and published six trio sonatas,
. In the second half of 1746 the composer was already in Hamburg, the post of conductor and chorus master of Italian opera troupe P. Mingotti. To 1750 Gluck traveled with the troupe to different cities and countries, writing and putting his operas. In 1750 he married and settled in Vienna.

None of the operas of Gluck's early period did not reveal the full extent of his talent, but his name in 1750 has already enjoyed a certain fame. In 1752 the Neapolitan theater 'San Carlo' ordered him to the opera La Clemenza di Tito (La Clemenza di Tito) at the libretto major playwright of the era Metastasio. Gluck himself conducted, and provoked a keen interest and jealousy of local musicians and has received praise from the eminent composer and teacher F. Durante (1684-1755). Upon his return to Vienna in 1753 he became Kapellmeister at the court of the Prince of Saxe-Hildburghauzenskogo and remained in that position until 1760. In 1757 Pope Benedict XIV awarded the title of knight composer and awarded him the Order of the Golden Spur: since the musician signed - 'Chevalier Gluck' (Ritter von Gluck).

During this period, the composer entered the environment for the new manager of the Vienna Theater Count Durazzo, and a lot of composing for the court, and for the Count himself, in 1754 Gluck was appointed conductor of the court opera. After 1758, he worked hard to create works of the French libretto in the style of French comic opera, . by implanting in Vienna, the Austrian ambassador in Paris (have in mind such opera, . as Merlin's Island, . L'Isle de Merlin; imaginary slave, . La fausse esclave; bamboozled cadi, . Le cadi dup),
. The dream of a 'reform of opera', whose aim is the restoration of the drama, originated in Northern Italy and possessed the minds of contemporaries Gluck, with particularly strong these trends were in the court of Parma, where the important role played French influence. Durazzo came from Genoa; years of creative development Gluck held in Milan, joined by two artists from Italy, but had experience of working in theaters in different countries - a poet and choreographer Kaltsabidzhi R. G. Andzholi. Thus formed 'team' of talented, intelligent people, moreover, sufficiently powerful to translate general ideas into practice. The first fruit of their collaboration was the ballet Don Juan (Don Juan, 1761), then the light appeared to Orpheus and Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice, 1762) and Alceste (Alceste, 1767) - the first reform opera by Gluck

. In the preface to the score of Alceste Gluck opera formulates his principles: the subordination of musical beauty of dramatic truth; destruction unintelligible vocal virtuosity, . all kinds of inorganic inserts into a musical act; interpretation of the overture as an introduction to drama,
. Indeed, . it's all there in the modern French opera, . and as the Austrian princess Marie Antoinette, . last maiden in Gluck's singing lessons, . then became the wife of the French monarch, . surprising, . soon Gluck ordered a number of operas for Paris,
. Premiere of the first, . Iphigenia at Aulis (Iphignie en Aulide), . hosted by author in 1774 and served as a pretext for a fierce battle of opinions, . This battle between supporters of French and Italian opera, . which lasted about five years,
. During this time Gluck set in Paris two operas - Armida (Armide, 1777) and Iphigenia in Tauris (Iphignie en Tauride, 1779), and processed for the French scene of Orpheus and Alceste. Fanatics Italian opera specially invited to the Paris composer N. Piccinni (1772-1800), who was a talented musician, but to withstand competition with the genius of Gluck's still not able to. At the end of 1779 Gluck returned to Vienna. Gluck died in Vienna on November 15, 1787.

Creativity Gluck is the supreme expression of the aesthetics of classicism, which is already in the composer's life gave way to emerging Romanticism. Best of Gluck's operas still hold pride of place in the operatic repertoire, and his music cuts its noble simplicity and deep expressiveness.