Gluck’s Alceste‚ written in Vienna as his second ‘reform’ opera in 1767‚ then rewritten for Paris in 1776‚ has always been something of a problem work. This is largely because Gluck and his original librettist‚ Calzabigi‚ in pursuance of their reformist principles‚ pared down the plot‚ but did so to a degree that left it with little variety of emotion: first everyone mourns the impending death of Admetus‚ and then they mourn the impending death of his self­sacrificing wife‚ Alcestis. Well‚ there is a little more than that‚ including celebrations when each of them is spared: but the only interesting character is the noble Alcestis herself – Admetus (Patricia Howard’s ingenious argument in her admirable note here notwithstanding) is unconvincing and indeed almost embarrassing‚ while Hercules (anyway an afterthought) adds little but bombast. But Gluck was a master of the mournful‚ the hieratic and the impassioned‚ and the score of Alceste‚ especially the longer French version‚ abounds in all these. There is much superb music in it‚ and it is orchestrated with great imagination and originality – and on this recording you can hear these often very elaborate textures ringing out clear and true. Much of the credit for that‚ of course‚ belongs with Sir John Eliot Gardiner‚ who is surely the leading Gluck interpreter today. His pacing of the score and his timing of its detail are without flaw‚ and his mastery of its tensions ensures that the shaping of its large­scale structures is exemplary. I would guess that some of his tempi are more extreme than Gluck might have envisaged – the urgent music harder driven‚ the elegiac more sustained; but it works‚ and gives rise to a performance of great power. Anne Sofie von Otter makes a strong Alceste but not‚ I think‚ a great one. This is a role that has engaged such singers as Callas and Flagstad‚ Baker and Norman. Von Otter doesn’t carry the emotional weight of a Baker‚ nor has her voice the refulgence of Norman’s‚ for example. But it is beautifully sung‚ even and clean in tone‚ impeccable in intonation‚ scrupulous in diction‚ warm in phrasing and with a duly queenly dignity. You won’t‚ however‚ hear her sing the words ‘Divinités du Styx’‚ which begin the great climactic air ending the First Act. That is because Gardiner‚ following Berlioz‚ believes that Gluck ought to have begun the air ‘Ombres‚ larves’‚ a literal translation of the original Italian‚ and to have retained the shape of the original Italian vocal line. Berlioz’s Alceste‚ Pauline Viardot­Garcia‚ refused to accept this (good for her‚ I would say)‚ but von Otter goes along. My own view is that Gluck knew perfectly well what he was doing‚ and deliberately included this more emphatic‚ more rhetorical opening‚ as better suited to the style and the larger context of the French version; and some may consider it arrogant to rewrite him even with Berlioz’s authority (we are listening in the 21st century‚ not the 19th‚ and are readier to respect the composer’s intentions and the conventions of 18th­century opera). Gardiner makes various other ‘adjustments’ to Gluck’s text where Berlioz or he himself felt the composer had stumbled. Berlioz is invoked‚ too‚ to justify vocal transpositions‚ several of which are needed to make Alceste’s airs sit more comfortably for von Otter’s voice; there are of course plenty of good precedents for this‚ but any transposition in so continuous a work inevitably has consequences. As usual‚ Gardiner prefers in many of the roles singers with relatively little experience or reputation in this repertory. Paul Groves sings Admète in a smooth high tenor that is elegantly used and always pleasant to listen to‚ if without striking character. Dietrich Henschel brings due strength and energy to Hercules’ music. The music for Evandre is expressed by Yann Beuron with some tenderness‚ as is that of the Coryphées. The Monteverdi Choir are as precise and responsive as always but of course do not sound like a French group. The English Baroque Soloists serve the detail of Gluck’s remarkable score faithfully and often in athletic fashion. Altogether‚ a very impressive set‚ and although the single alternative for the French version (listed above) has some distinguished singing from Jessye Norman and Nicolai Gedda‚ this is certainly the one to have.