Christoph Willibald Gluck's soft skills in the case «Opera reform in the XVIII century»

Abstract

Relevance of research. The Viennese opera reform in the 18th century, which is closely related to the ideology of the Enlightenment, the activities of Masonic lodges, and the politics of Austrian Chancellor Kaunitz-Rietberg, is still often regarded as a cliché. Not a single domestic study has been devoted to the question of rethinking both the phenomenon of opera reform itself and Gluck's role in it, which determines the article's relevance. In this work, for the first time, the importance of the union of reformers in Vienna for the implementation of the opera reform in the 18th century is emphasized. In overcoming the cliché of "glucocentrism", it seems important to look at Gluck as a person, with certain psychological traits (soft skills in modern language) that allowed him to be effective in co-creation with the Viennese reformers and to achieve personal success. All of the above determines the scientific novelty of the work. The purpose of the article. To trace the history of the so-called Gluck reform and identify the main participants of the case "Opera reform in the mid-18th century". To investigate what and how Gluck's soft skills helped him to realize his creative potential in the stormy 18th century - at a time of changing worldview paradigms, and contributed to the formation of his place in the history of music as a "great opera reformer". Methods. To achieve the goal set in the article, a historical (to consider the circumstances of the formation of the request for opera reform and to find out the ways of its solution), cultural (to study the cultural context of the 18th century) and sociological analysis method (to outline Gluck's soft skills) was chosen. The results and conclusions. From the facts presented in the article, it becomes obvious that the so-called Gluck reform is a successful case of solving the problem of renewing the opera genre, implemented by a team of reformers. The decisive role in this was played by the musical genius and character of Gluck, his character, and the historical context that formed the "request" for reform. The composer had soft skills that, according to modern research, help a person work effectively in a team and achieve success. Undoubtedly, Gluck's soft skills discussed in the article were a guarantee of recognition for both the composer himself and the Viennese opera reform. Most of the crucial issues for understanding the phenomenon of opera reform in the 18th century still require further research, including the analysis of reformed operas as integral performances. and determining the role of Masonic lodges in the implementation of music and theater reform in Vienna.