Gluck was a pioneering opera composer born in Germany in 1714 who helped reform opera styles. He spent time composing in Italy, London, Paris, and Vienna. Gluck helped establish the tradition of opera reform known as "Gluckian reform" which emphasized expressiveness of the music and drama over elaborate displays. Some of his most famous works include Orfeo ed Euridice, which premiered in Vienna in 1762 and helped establish his reforms, and Iphigénie en Aulide. Gluck composed over 35 operas and ballets and helped shape opera as an art form before passing away in Vienna in 1787.