Click here to download the Libretto- Christoph Willibald von Gluck. Drame héroïque in five acts. 1777.
- Libretto by Philippe Quinault, after an episode in Torquato Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata.
- First performance at the Paris Opéra on 23rd September 1777.
CHARACTERS
| Armide, a sorceress, Princess of Damascus | soprano |
| Phénice, her confidante | soprano |
| Sidonie, her confidante | soprano |
| Renaud, a crusader | tenor |
| Hidraot, King of Damascus, a magician | baritone |
| La Haine (Hatred) | contralto |
| Danish Knight | tenor |
| Ubalde, a knight | baritone |
| Demon in the form of Lucinde, beloved of the Danish Knight | soprano |
| Demon in the form of Mélisse, beloved of Ubalde | soprano |
| Artémidore, prisoner of Armide | tenor |
| Aronte, guard of Armide’s prisoners | bass |
| Naiad | soprano |
| Shepherd | soprano |
| A Pleasure | soprano |
In his Armide Gluck set Quinault’s libretto of 1686 and the action of the opera therefore follows that of the earlier work, without the prologue. In Lully’s version Renaud and the Danish Knight were haute-contres and La Haine a tenor. Gluck considered the opera as perhaps his best.
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