Sophie Augustine Leo in Rue de Richelieu - between at the end of 1817 and in the beginning of 1818

from Musical Life in Paris (1817-1848): A Chapter from the Memoirs of Sophie Augustine Leo--Part I, page 262:

Immeasurable as was my admiration for Gluck, I was really distressed by the affected style in which those divine works, Armida, Alcestis, and the two Iphigenias, were offered us by the old company; one enjoyed and suffered at the same moment. All was distortion, and an awkward mob of extras in soiled classic costume, their heads wreathed in roses, their faces rough and bearded, their reddened fists protruding from their coarsely­ woven sleeves, made an impression as distasteful as it was ridicu­lous. Remembering then that it was the beautiful sorceress Armida who, seeking the …   more >>
cite as

W. Oliver Strunk and Sophie Augustine Leo, Musical Life in Paris (1817-1848): A Chapter from the Memoirs of Sophie Augustine Leo--Part I. In The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 2 (Apr., 1931), volume Vol. 17, No. 2 (April, 1931), p. 262. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1424772504560 accessed: 3 November, 2024

location of experience: Rue de Richelieu

Listeners

Sophie Augustine Leo
Writer
1795-

Listening to

hide composers
Alceste
written by Christoph Willibald Gluck
Iphigenie en Tauride
written by Christoph Willibald Gluck
Armida
written by Christoph Willibald Gluck
performed by Mme. Branchu

Experience Information

Date/Time between at the end of 1817 and in the beginning of 1818
Medium live
Listening Environment in the company of others, indoors, in public

Originally submitted by mallen on Tue, 24 Feb 2015 10:08:24 +0000