About the work
Iphigénie en Aulide is a tragédie lyrique by Christoph Willibald Gluck to a libretto by François-Louis Gand Le Bland Du Roullet, based on Jean Racine's tragedy 'Iphigénie' (1674). It premiered on 19 April 1774 at the Paris Opéra under Gluck's own direction — the first of six operas he had contracted to write for Paris.
Plot
The Greek fleet under Agamemnon is stranded at Aulis by contrary winds. The seer Calchas declares that only the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter Iphigenia can appease the goddess Diana. Agamemnon desperately tries to avert the sacrifice; at the last moment Diana relents and instead blesses Iphigenia's union with Achilles.
Cultural significance
Only modestly successful at first, the opera became Gluck's most frequently performed Paris work, receiving more than 400 performances in Paris between 1774 and 1824. Its premiere also opened the public dispute between Gluck's and Piccinni's supporters over French versus Italian operatic tradition.