About the work
Alceste is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck to a libretto by Ranieri de’ Calzabigi, based on Euripides’ tragedy “Alcestis.” The Italian version premiered on 26 December 1767 at the Burgtheater in Vienna; for the Paris Opéra, François-Louis Gand Le Bland Du Roullet thoroughly reworked the text and Gluck the score into French in 1776.
Plot
King Admetos of Pherae is dying, and only the voluntary sacrifice of a loved one can save him. His wife Alceste offers to die in his place. When Admetos learns of her decision, he refuses to live without her; the demigod Hercules descends into the underworld and wins both their lives back.
Cultural significance
After “Orfeo ed Euridice,” “Alceste” is Gluck’s second reform opera: the music serves the drama rather than interrupting it with vocal display. The work remains one of the key pieces of opera history.