Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride

One of the final works of Gluck’s long and distinguished operatic career, Iphigenie en Tauride recounts an episode from Greek myth about Agamemnon’s daughter Iphigenia and her time as a priestess of Diana in Tauris. The story revolves around her initially unknowing reunion with her brother Orestes, who has fled Mycenae after killing their mother Clytemnestra—and whom Iphigenia is ordered to sacrifice to her goddess. With his characteristic lyricism and directness, the composer provides an affecting musical setting for the family drama.