At the age of 18, Gluck went to Prague to continue his musical studies with Czernohorsky. While in Prague, he made his living by playing music, often playing fiddle at village fairs and dances. Gluck was introduced to many noble Austrian families through his father’s employer, Prince Lobkowitz, which eased his transition to Vienna in 1736. Prince Mezi was particularly fond of music and Gluck, and they travelled together to Milan, where Gluck continued his studies with Giovanni Battista San Martini, a well-known music historian and contrapuntist. Gluck also learned practical knowledge of all the instruments while studying with San Martini. Gluck was able to rapidly produce operas while in Italy and, between 1741 and 1745, nine of his works were successfully produced at the Italian theaters. His first opera, Artaserse (1741), was successfully performed at the Teatro Regio Ducal. The opera was again performed at the Milanese Carnival in 1742, where it was also successful. He was then asked to compose operas for the next four Carnivals and was invited to compose for the Haymarket in London in 1745. His first opera there was the original work, La Caduta dei gigantic (1746), while his second opera was simply a revised version of Arteme (2^nd ver. 1946). Gluck also had the opportunity to perform on the musical glasses in London. His operas in London were not successful; his style in this period is reminiscent of Handel, but very amateurish and not yet evolved. His music was also very dependent on dramatic situations and a good libretto, which he did not have.

Through the baille, Le Blanc du Roullet attaché, of the French embassy in Vienna, Gluck was given the opportunity to work in Paris and his classical opera, Iphigénie en Aulide (1774) was staged at the Académie de Musique in 1774. This important opera caused great controversy as it didn’t adhere to the style of the traditional French school. Rousseau, however, acknowledged Gluck’s genius. Though controversial, the opera was successful despite the fact that the controversies regarding his style had begun to interfere with his spontaneity. The opera Armide (1777) is colorful and full of drama and melody while Écho et Narcisse (1779) was considered a failure both in his time and now. During the rehearsals for Écho et Narcisse, Gluck suffered his first stroke and an attack of apoplexy forced him to stop working during the composition of Les Danaïdes.

During his final years, Gluck returned to Vienna and his health continued to decline. He also lost interest in composing for opera houses, though he received numerous offers. He suffered several more strokes before dying on 15 November 1787.