Christoph Willibald Gluck
1714 – 1787
Gluck reformed opera, stripping away excess to reveal dramatic truth. His music combines classical nobility with genuine emotion. Simple, powerful, and deeply affecting.
Essential Listening
Orfeo ed Euridice - Dance of the Blessed Spirits
Souls dance in the Elysian Fields. Flute and strings create an atmosphere of perfect peace — music for paradise.
Orfeo ed Euridice - Che farò senza Euridice
What shall I do without Euridice? Orpheus's grief poured into one of opera's most moving arias.
Iphigénie en Tauride - O malheureuse Iphigénie
Iphigénie laments her fate. Noble grief and acceptance — Gluck's reform ideals perfectly realized.
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