"Gluck composed his Armida in compliment to the personal charms of Marie
Antoinette. I never saw Her Majesty more interested about anything than
she was for its success. She became a perfect slave to it. She had the
gracious condescension to hear all the pieces through, at Gluck's
request, before they were submitted to the stage for rehearsal. Gluck
said he always improved his music after he saw the effect it had upon Her
Majesty.

"He was coming out of the Queen's apartment one day, after he had been
performing one of these pieces for Her Majesty's approbation, when I
followed and congratulated him on the increased success he had met with
from the whole band of the opera at every rehearsal. 'O my dear
Princess!' cried he, 'it wants nothing to make it be applauded up to the
seven skies but two such delightful heads as Her Majesty's and your
own.'--'Oh, if that be all,' answered I, 'we'll have them painted for
you, Mr. Gluck!'--'No, no, no! you do not understand me,' replied Gluck,
'I mean real, real heads. My actresses are very ugly, and Armida and her
confidential lady ought to be very handsome:

"However great the success of the opera of Armida, and certainly it was
one of the best productions ever exhibited on the French stage, no one
had a better opinion of its composition than Gluck himself. He was quite
mad about it. He told the Queen that the air of France had invigorated
his musical genius, and that, after having had the honour of seeing Her
Majesty, his ideas were so much inspired that his compositions resembled
her, and became alike angelic and sublime!

"The first artist who undertook the part of Armida was Madame Saint
Huberti. The Queen was very partial to her. She was principal female