Il Parnaso confuso (Parnassus in Turmoil) is an opera by the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck. It takes the form of an azione teatrale in one act. The Italian-language libretto is by Pietro Metastasio. The opera premiered on 24 January 1765 at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. All the members of the cast were archduchesses of the Habsburg family and the work was conducted by the future Emperor Leopold II from the harpsichord.
Roles CastVoice typePremiereApollosoprano (en travesti)Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of AustriaMelpomenesopranoArchduchess Maria Amalia of AustriaEratosopranoArchduchess Maria Carolina of AustriaEuterpesopranoArchduchess Maria Josepha of Austria
Recording Il Parnaso confuso The Queen's Chamber Band, conducted by Rudolph Palmer (Albany Records, 2004)
Sources Holden, Amanda The Viking Opera Guide (Viking, 1993), page 378. Gluck Gesamtausgabe Il Parnaso confuso