C.W.v. Gluck. First edition, variant issue, in Italian, of "Orfeo ed Euridice", 1764

Christoph Willibald von Gluck

Orfeo ed Euridice Azione Teatrale Per Musica Del Sign.^r Cav. Cristofano Gluck, Rappresentata in Vienna nell’anno 1764 [full score], Paris [1764] 

First edition in Italian, Hopkinson's variant issue, 158 pages, large folio, autograph inscription on title ("G"), engraved throughout, fine engraved frontispiece by Le Mire after Monnet, showing a scene from Act II, scene 2 ("Euridice—amor ti rende"), eighteenth-century French calf, marbled endpapers 

Gluck’s great opera was premiered in Vienna in 1762 and this version in Italian was published two years later in France. The first edition of the French version appeared in Paris in 1774. The present edition is extremely attractive and represents a style of music printing which was not yet generally available in the Austrian capital. The most famous number of this opera is of course 'Che faro senza Euridice', made even more famous in modern times by the unforgettable performances of Kathleen Ferrier.

LITERATURE:

RISM G 2842; Hopkinson 30 A (a)

PROVENANCE:

Otto Haas