OPERA - GLUCK: ALCESTE

RECORDED FROM THE THEATRE DU CHATELET

CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK'S

 ALCESTE

Libretti by Ranieri da Calzabigi

Conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

Staging by Robert Wilson

Costumes by Frida Parmeggiani

Principals

With the English Baroque Soloists

and the Monteverdi Choir

When the historic Théâtre du Chatelet in Paris re-opened after a period of extensive refurbishment, the first two productions mounted in the theatre were Gluck's Alceste and Orphee et Eurydice. "The center of these proceedings was not any singer, producer or politician but Gluck himself. To hear his songful art pour out uninterrupted over consecutive evenings was to understand the overwhelming power of melody. Gluck was not a master of complication, but he made his shortcomings into forceful music" (New York Times). Gluck understood how to put music at the service of poetry.

Gluck wrote French versions of both pieces, refined re-compositions of his original Italian operas. They exemplify his landmark achievement in the history of opera: the transformation of what had been concerts in costume into a form of musical drama. Both productions were mounted and designed by Robert Wilson and conducted by John Eliot Gardiner. This was the first time Wilson and Gardiner had collaborated and their individual credentials combined to produce an exceptional result.

American polymath Wilson was responsible for some of the most ambitious avant-garde performance projects of the 1970s and '80s, including, with Philip Glass, Einstein on the Beach. Since the mid-1980s he has increasingly brought his prodigious creativity to works from the standard dramatic and operatic repertoire, transforming them into his own unmistakably minimalist yet grandiose visions. His styled, classical interpretations of Alceste and Orphee bear his trademarks of an uncluttered stage and the arresting use of colour and light. They are not so much timeless as, in Robert Wilson's words, "full of time".  The stagings illuminate rather than illustrate the action of the works. The emotions which lie at the heart of both Alceste and Orphee emerge with crystalline intensity. With their minutely rehearsed gestures, at once formal and poetic, the singers have the grace and elegance of Balanchine or Martha Graham dancers.

A key figure in the revival of Early Music, John Eliot Gardiner has long been a champion of Gluck's French operas and is a great Gluck conductor. He conducted the English Baroque Soloists, the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and the Monteverdi Choir. His performances with these ensembles - all of which he founded - bear the personal stamp of his scholarship and inspired musicianship and are noted for their zest and technical mastery. Gardiner received enormous critical acclaim for his musical direction of both Orphee and Alceste at the Châtelet, as did his orchestras and chorus. He sought to rid the operas of any vestiges of remoteness or venerable respectability and to release the huge emotional charge that lies behind the beauty of Gluck's classical sobriety. The stories are, after all, he says, not only poignant and deeply moving, they have an immediate and contemporary relevance: they portray two married couples striving to protect their union and their love, plumbing the very depths of their emotional strength and summoning the courage to make huge personal sacrifices. "If presented in a way that's immediate and with tremendous intensity and truth of expression then all the dross and superficiality of the stage action falls away and you're left with what's actually a very visceral connection between two living people."

Television's top opera director, Brian Large, worked closely with Robert Wilson and John Eliot Gardiner to ensure that the translation of live performance to the small screen is of the highest artistic and technical standard.

John Eliot Gardiner chose Gluck's 1776 French version of Alceste for Robert Wilson's production, conducting the piece for the first time with his period-instrument ensemble, the English Baroque Soloists. The excellent Monteverdi Choir provides the chorus and, unusually, they sing from the pit, with dancers taking their place on stage. They give magnificently persuasive expression to the horror and compassion demanded by the drama. The Greek geometric perfection of Robert Wilson's various tableaux is beautifully realised, with his eye for striking theatrical symbol creating an intriguing visual arena for one of Gluck's most elevated and sublime works.

Soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, one of the finest singers of her generation, takes the title role of Alceste, Queen of Thessaly, who offers to die at the hands of the gods in place of her husband, Admète (Paul Groves), so that the people will not lose their king. To universal astonishment, she is saved from the Underworld by Hercule (Dietrich Henschel), whose action is sanctioned by Apollon (Ludovic Tézier) in a dramatic deus ex machina.

Classically poised, von Otter more than overcomes the fact that her mezzo voice is not ideal for this role - she makes some necessary downward transpositions - with the unfailing beauty of her singing and the impeccable elegance and style of her phrasing. The intimate depth of feeling and inner dignity she conveys bring to her characterisation a mesmerising power and poignancy. Paul Groves matches von Otter's artistry with an equally sensitive performance as Admète and all the supporting roles are articulated with exceptional style.

 Directed by Brian Large

Synopsis

The opera itself concerns Alceste, princess of Iolcos and queen of Thessaly, who in the first act is abducted by Licomède (Lycomedes), king of Scyros, with the aid of his sister Thetis, a sea nymph; Aeolus, the god of the winds; and other supernatural forces. In the battle to rescue her, Alcide (Hercules) is triumphant, but Alceste’s husband, Admète (Admetus), suffers a mortal wound. Apollo agrees to let Admète live if someone will take his place in death. Alceste volunteers herself but is rescued by Alcide, who loves her. The opera ends with a celebration of Alceste’s return from the underworld and of Alcide’s noble gallantry in returning her to her husband and relinquishing any claims to her.