2025 OPERA SEASON
OEDIPUS REX
Igor' Fyrodovich Stravinsky
Myth as monument. An actor, speaking in the language of the audience, wanders among musical numbers tracing Sophocles’Oedipus Rex. A contemporary voice among eternal elements, in Latin, a lingua franca, ancient and universal. The spoken word and the music. We are in France, at the end of the 1920s, and Igor Stravinsky no longer plays with quotations as he had done in Pulcinella, but creates a kind of ideal past in which the narrator is inspired by the Baroque tradition of the oratorio and constitutes a very modern alienating element between mythical action and present time, between theater and reality. The whole work is two-faced, as well as bilingual (by Jean Cocteau with Latin translations by Jean Daniélou, theologian and literary scholar), imbued with a rhythmic power that makes it as ancient and solemn as it is modern and vital, marble and pulsating. Murderer of his father, groom of his mother, annihilated by self-discovery, Oedipus in his harried quest continues to arouse pity and terror as in classical tragedy.
Opera – oratorio in two acts
Libretto by Igor’ Fërodovič Stravinsky and Jean Cocteau, from Sophocles (translated into Latin by Jean Daniélou)
Myth as monument. An actor, speaking in the language of the audience, wanders among musical numbers tracing Sophocles’Oedipus Rex. A contemporary voice among eternal elements, in Latin, a lingua franca, ancient and universal. The spoken word and the music. We are in France, at the end of the 1920s, and Igor Stravinsky no longer plays with quotations as he had done in Pulcinella, but creates a kind of ideal past in which the narrator is inspired by the Baroque tradition of the oratorio and constitutes a very modern alienating element between mythical action and present time, between theater and reality. The whole work is two-faced, as well as bilingual (by Jean Cocteau with Latin translations by Jean Daniélou, theologian and literary scholar), imbued with a rhythmic power that makes it as ancient and solemn as it is modern and vital, marble and pulsating. Murderer of his father, groom of his mother, annihilated by self-discovery, Oedipus in his harried quest continues to arouse pity and terror as in classical tragedy.
DIRECTOR
Oksana Lyniv
DIRECTOR
Gabriele Lavia
Director
Directing
New Production of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Main Characters and Performers
NARRATOR
Gabriele Lavia
EDIPO
Paolo Antognetti
CREONTE / IL MESSAGGERO
Claudio Otelli
TIRESIA
Sorin Coliban
THE PASTOR
Cornel Frey
SCENE
Federica Parolini
COSTUMES
Silvia Aymonino
LUCI
Alessandro Verazzi
Author
Igor' Fëdorovič Stravinskij
(1882-1971) was a naturalized French and later American Russian composer, celebrated for his versatility and innovation. His major works include the ballets “The Firebird,” “Petrushka” and “The Rite of Spring,” which revolutionized 20th-century music with complex rhythms and bold harmonies. Stravinsky explored various styles, from neoclassicism to serialism, deeply influencing contemporary music and leaving an indelible mark on the history of music.
October 7 | 9 | 12
MUNICIPAL NOUVEAU
(Constitution Square, 4)
Each performance will be preceded by the performance of:
ILDEBRANDO PIZZETTI
“For Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex.”
Three symphonic interludes for orchestra
ORCHESTRA OF THE MUNICIPAL THEATER OF BOLOGNA
Nothing found.
FROM 24TH TO 30 JAN
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13TH TO 19TH APR
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FEB 20-25
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24 AND 26 OCT
Manzoni Auditorium
13 AND 15 JUN
Manzoni Auditorium.
FROM NOV 23TH TO NOV 30th
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DEC 19TH TO DEC 30th
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4TH TO 8TH JUL
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FROM MAY 25 TO JUNE 1
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7TH TO 12TH OCT
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This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)