La rencontre imprévue, ou Les pèlerins de la Mecque Wq. 32 (The Unexpected Encounter, or The Pilgrims to Mecca) is a three-act opéra comique, composed in 1763 by Christoph Willibald Gluck to a libretto by Louis Dancourt after the 1726 comédie en vaudeville Les pèlerins de la Mecque by Alain-René Lesage and d'Orneval. The death of Isabella of Parma, the archduke's wife, occasioned a revision of the spoken text downplaying the feigned death by which princess Rezia tests her beloved. The work was first performed in this form as La rencontre imprévue at the Burgtheater, Vienna on 7 January 1764. Dancourt's original text, titled Les pèlerins de la Mecque and designated as a comédie mêlée d'ariettes, was not premiered until 1990 (see Recordings).
| Original Name | La rencontre imprévue, ou Les pèlerins de la Mecque |
| Librettist | Louis Hurtaut Dancourt (after Les pèlerins de la Mecque (1726) by Alain René Lesage and Jacques-Philippe d'Orneval) |
| Date of composition | 1763 |
| Premiered | 1764, January 7th (Burgtheater) in Vienna, Austria |
| Type | Opera |
| Catalogue | Wq. 32 |
| Spoken language | French |
| Instruments |
Orchestra
Chorus/Choir - Mixed Chorus ; Voice (Soprano) - Rezia, beloved of Ali, prisoner of the Sultan Voice (Soprano) - Balkis, Rezia's attendant Voice (Soprano) - Dardané, Rezia's attendant Voice (Soprano) - Amine, Rezia's attendant Voice (Haute-contre) - Ali, Prince of Balsora Voice (Tenor) - Osmin, Ali's slave Voice (Baritone) - Vertigo. a painter Voice (Bass) - Calender, a dervish Voice (Tenor) - Le Sultan d'Égypte Voice (Bass) - Le chef de caravane |
| Arrangements |
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Christoph Willibald Gluck: Die unvermuthete Zusammenkunft
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| Autotranslations beta |
Christoph Willibald Gluck: The Unexpected Encounter, or The Pilgrims to Mecca, Wq. 32 Christoph Willibald Gluck: The Unexpected Encounter, or The Pilgrims to Mecca, Wq. 32 Christoph Willibald Gluck: The Unexpected Encounter, or The Pilgrims to Mecca, Wq. 32 |