Oedipus Rex ( Latin Œdipus rex ) is an opera oratorio in two acts, six scenes by Igor Stravinsky based on the libretto by Jean Cocteau .
| Opera | |
| King oedipus | |
|---|---|
| Composer | |
| Librettist | |
| Tongue libretto | |
| Plot source | |
| Genre | |
| Action | |
| Pictures | |
| First production | |
| First Place | Theater de la Ville , Paris |
Content
History
The premiere took place on May 30, 1927 at the Theater de la Ville in concert, then staged at the Vienna State Opera on February 23, 1928.
The libretto of Jean Cocteau was translated into Latin by the abbot Jean Danielou . The work can be performed either in concert form (as an oratorio) or on the stage (as an opera), and the narrator can speak the language of the country where the work is performed.
Actors
- Oedipus , king of Thebes ( tenor )
- Jocasta, his wife and mother ( mezzo-soprano )
- Creon, brother of Jocasta ( bass baritone )
- Tiresias, soothsayer (bass )
- shepherd (tenor)
- Herald (bass baritone)
- narrator
- people (male choir)
Scene
The action takes place in Thebes ( Ancient Greece ).
Structure
Act I
Thebes population suffers from the plague that hit the city. Residents beg King Oedipus to help them. Creon announces that the Delphic oracle has declared that the killer of the previous king is in the city and must be found. Soothsayer Tiresias says that Oedipus is the same killer. Oedipus believes that they want to overthrow him from the throne.
Act II
Jocasta recalls that Lai, the previous king, was killed by robbers at a crossroads. A startled Oedipus recalls that he killed a stranger in the same place. The messenger and the shepherd inform Oedipus of the death of King Polybos and that he was the adoptive father of Oedipus, and Oedipus himself was found a baby in the mountains. Jocasta runs away in horror, the Shepherd and the messenger accuse Oedipus of patricide and incest. Jocasta hangs himself, and Oedipus pokes out his eyes.
Selected Discography
Note For records marked with *, the date of the first release is indicated, in other cases - the date of recording.
- 1958, dir. I.F. Stravinsky (Arkadia)
- 1962, dir. I.F. Stravinsky (Sony / BMG)
- 1966, dir. C. Ancherle (Supraphon)
- 1969, dir. C. Abbado (Allegro)
- 1972, con. L. Bernstein (Sony Classical)
- 1977 *, dir. G. Solti (Decca)
- 1992, dir. S. Ozawa (Philips)
- 2001, dir. R. Shayi (RCO Live)
- 2013, dir. J.E. Gardiner (LSO live)
Literature
- Andrissen Louis and Schoenberger Elmer . Apollo Clock. About Stravinsky. St. Petersburg, 2003. Translation from the Dutch Irina Leskovskaya. -300 s ISBN 5-7331-0041-9
- Druskin M.S. Igor Stravinsky: Personality. Creation. The views. L .; M .: Soviet composer. 1974. 221 p .; 2nd ed., Rev. and add. L .: Soviet composer, 1979. 230 s; 3rd ed., 1982. 208 p.
- Druskin M.S. Stravinsky // Music of the XX century: Essays. 1917-1945. M .: Music. 1984. Prince 4, part 2.P. 203—229.
- White, Eric Walter . Stravinsky: The Composer and His Works . (English) - Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1979. - ISBN 0-520-03983-1 , ISBN 0-520-03985-8
- Bernstein, Leonard. 1976. The Unanswered Question: Six Talks at Harvard , with three LP recordings. The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures 1973. Cambridge, Mass .: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674920007 ; ISBN 0674920015 (pbk.).
- Brown, Frederick. 1968. An Impersonation of Angels: A Biography of Jean Cocteau . New York: Viking Press.
- White, Eric Walter. 1985. Stravinsky: The Composer and His Works . [to be clarified ] Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.