Écho et Narcisse (Echo and Narcissus) is a 1779 drame lyrique in three acts, the last original opera written by Christoph Willibald Gluck, his sixth for the French stage. The libretto, written by Louis-Théodore de Tschudi, tells the story of the love between Echo and Narcissus.
Performance history Écho et Narcisse was first performed on 24 September 1779 by the Paris Opéra in the second Salle du Palais-Royal. The opera is in the pastoral tradition, a genre not in favor at the Opéra at the time,Rushton 2001, p. 327. and it was a failure, discontinued after only 12 performances. Gluck decided to go back to Vienna and never returned to Paris. He revised the work for 8 August 1780, but this version only enjoyed nine performances.
A third version was presented to the public on 8 June 1781. This was better received. However, it was infrequently produced until René Jacobs revived it in 1987 at the Schwetzingen Festival. Jacobs used the revised version as the original one has not survived, except for the libretto.
Roles +RoleVoice typePremiere cast, 24 September 1779Écho, a nymph, ruler of the woods and waterssoprano Mlle BeaumesnilAglaé, a nymph, friend of ÉchosopranoAdelaïde Gavaudan 'cadette'Eglé, a nymph, friend of ÉchosopranoAnne-Marie-Jeanne Gavaudan, 'L'aînée'Amour (Cupid)sopranoGertrude GirardinNarcisse, a hunter, son of Cephisushaute-contreÉtienne LainezCynire, friend of Narcissehaute-contreJoseph LegrosSylphie, a nymphsopranoThanais, a nymphsopranoTwo sylvansbasshaute-contreAuguste-Athanase (Augustin) ChéronGustave Chouquet, Histoire de la musique dramatique en France depuis ses origines jusqu'à nos jours, Paris, Firmin Didot, 1873, p. 362 (online Gallica)Sylphs, Zephyrs and attendants and followers of Amour, Écho and Narcisse.BalletLajarte, 1878, p. 312 – ballerinas: Marie-Madeleine Guimard, Anne Heinel, Marie Allard, Peslin;male dancers: Gaetano Vestris, Auguste Vestris, Maximilien Gardel, Jean D'Auberval
Synopsis The nymph Écho is loved by Narcisse, but also desired by Apollo. Apollo puts a spell on Narcisse so he falls in love with his own reflection, but Cupid is eventually successful in securing a happy ending by re-uniting Écho and Narcisse.
References Notes
Sources Lajarte, Théodore, "Écho et Narcisse", Bibliothèque Musicale du Théatre de l'Opéra. Catalogue Historique, Chronologique, Anecdotique, Paris, Librairie des bibliophiles, 1878, pp. 311–312, vol. I Rushton, Julian (2001). "Christoph Willibald Gluck", pp. 313–327, in The New Penguin Opera Guide, edited by Amanda Holden. London: Penguin Books. .
Further reading Hayes, Jeremy (1992), "Écho et Narcisse" in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London)
External links
Libretto (French) Score