IPHIGENIE EN TAURIDE TRIUMPH OF LIFE OVER TRAGEDY

Iphigénie en Tauride is an acclaimed libretto of famous French librettist Nicolas-François Guillard.
In collaboration with Christoph Willibald Gluck, Guillard made extensive changes to the play to suit Gluck's artistic vision. Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride is widely acknowledged to be one of his finest piece of work.

HISTORY

Guillard is said to have been inspired by the ancient dramatist Euripides's play, Iphigenia in Tauris, to write this.

Act 1

The first act unfolds in Diana's temple in Tauris. It is a lull before an ominous storm. Iphigénie or Iphigenia is rescued by Diana and carried to Tauris when her father attempted to offer her as a sacrifice to Diana. Iphigenia is troubled by a nightmare she had. She very vividly saw her mother Clytaemnestra murdering her father, Agamemnon. Clytaemnestra in turn is murdered by Iphigenia's brother Orestes before succumbing to death by stabbings of Iphigenia. Meanwhile, Scythians find two shipwrecked Greek on their shore. Their secret mission is to take the statue of Diana back to Greece which they do not divulge. The two Greek are none other than Orestes and his friend Pylades.

Act 2

It is a Scythian custom to offer shipwrecked mortals as sacrifices on Diana's altar. Orestes and Pylades were chained and prepared for that. Orestes is not only ashamed to bring misfortune in his friend's life but is also tormented by the vision of Furies. Furies was killed by Orestes for assassinating his father, Agarmemnon. At this point Iphigenia enters. But the two did not recognise each other. Orestes is astonished by her likeness to his mother. Iphigenia, the high priestess of Diana, prepares for the funeral ceremony of Orestes with others.

Act 3

Orestes reminds Iphigenia the memories of her own brother. She wants him to carry the news of her survival to their sister Electra in Argos. She persuades Thoas, the Scythian king, to let one of the two captives survive and chooses Orestes to deliver the news. Orestes feels mortified at the thought of leaving behind his friend to die. After much requests, he persuades Iphigenia to let Pylades carry out the task.
Pylades leaves the scene vowing that he would save the life of Orestes.

Act 4

Iphigenia frets at the thought of killing Orestes. When she finally persuades herself to wield the knife Orestes cries out her name. The brother and sister reunite. Thoas enters and is enraged by the scene. Pylades comes with his Greek troop and kills Thoas. The Scythians get involved into a riot with the Greeks. At that moment Diana appears and asks the Scythians to restore her statue to Greece. She also forgives Orestes for killing his mother and asks him to send Iphigenia to her country. Everyone sings in chorus as the order is restored.

THE MAIN ROLES

Iphigénie, soprano or mezzo-soprano
Orestes, baritone
Pylade, tenor
Thoas, bass
Diana, soprano

Gluck used some of his own compositions and borrowed heavily from the other contemporary masters to embellish the adaptation of the play. He even utilised Johann Sebastian Bach's aria and used it into the portrayal of the story.