Description

War, the myth of sacrifice, the apparent inevitability of fate, a family’s curse and the utopian idea of overcoming it: Euripides’ ancient tragedies, upon which Gluck’s operas Iphigénie en Aulide (1774) and Iphigénie en Tauride (1779) are based, reflect the most extreme dangers of our misconduct. The fight against barbarism and the struggle for humanity in a world which appears to be cursed are inherent to these works. Torsten Fischer has created a composite piece from his productions of both operas which tells of the fate of Iphigénie in one evening.

At the beginning of the Trojan War, Diana prevents the Greek fleet under Agamemnon from setting sail for Troy by calling up dead calm near Aulis. An oracle announces that in order to continue the journey, Agamemnon must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess. Neither Achilles nor Iphigenia’s mother Clytemnestra can prevent the execution. Iphigenia is transported by Diana to Tauris where she must serve the goddess as a priestess. Following his return from the war, Agamemnon is murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra. Iphigenia’s brother Orestes avenges the murder of his father by killing his own mother. To escape the pursuing Erinyes, who want revenge for the matricide, Orestes is commanded by Apollo to take a statue of Diana from Tauris to Athens. With his friend Pylades, Orestes travels to Tauris where they are both captured by the natives who intend to sacrifice them to Diana, as they do with all strangers. However, the priestess of Diana who has been given the task of carrying out the sacrifice is Orestes’ sister Iphigenia, who fails to recognize him. It is not until the sacrificial ceremony itself that she looks in his eyes and lifts the curse that has so long lain over the Atreidean family. The goddess Diana herself helps Iphigenia, Orestes and Pylades to escape from the Taurian king, Thoas, back to Greece.