Iphigénie en Aulide

opera by Gluck

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June 29, 2026

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Iphigénie en Aulide is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on Jean Racine's play of the same name. Racine's play, in turn, was inspired by Euripides' tragedy Iphigenia at Aulis.12

The story centers on Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon, leader of the Greek fleet. The fleet is becalmed at Aulis, unable to sail for Troy. To appease the goddess Artemis, who is causing the unfavorable winds, Agamemnon is told he must sacrifice Iphigenia. He lures her to Aulis by promising her marriage to Achilles. When Iphigenia learns the truth, she initially pleads for her life but ultimately agrees to be sacrificed.12

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Christoph Willibald Gluck
The late works of Christoph Willibald Gluck
…stage Gluck’s newly completed opera, Iphigénie en Aulide (the text, after Racine’s tragedy, was by François-Louis Leblanc, bailli Du Roullet); and, as Gluck had undertaken to transform the genial Italian style to the more serious opera cultivated by French composers as well as to provide six more similar operas, he…
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…stage Gluck’s newly completed opera, Iphigénie en Aulide (the text, after Racine’s tragedy, was by François-Louis Leblanc, bailli Du Roullet); and, as Gluck had undertaken to transform the genial Italian style to the more serious opera cultivated by French composers as well as to provide six more similar operas, he…
Read More