Armide (Gluck)

Gluck's fifth production for the Parisian stage and the composer's own favourite among his works, it was first performed on 23 September 1777 by the Académie Royale de Musique in the second Salle du Palais-Royal in Paris.

A similar attempt to write a new opera to the libretto of Thésée by Jean-Joseph de Mondonville in 1765 had ended in disaster, with audiences demanding it be replaced by Lully's original.

By utilizing Armide, Gluck challenged the long-standing and apparently inviolable ideals of French practice, and in the process he revealed these values capable of renewal through "modern" compositional sensitivities.

Another big-budget production was staged at the Opéra on 12 April 1905, starring Lucienne Bréval in the title role, Alice Verlet, Agustarello Affre, Dinh Gilly, and Geneviève Vix.

Overseen by Gluck connoisseur François-Auguste Gevaert, it featured Félia Litvinne in the title role, costumes by the symbolist artist Fernand Khnopff, and eight sets by Albert Dubosq.