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Opera on 3

Music: Classical: Opera

Programme presenting rare and fascinating operatic performances

Programme presenting rare and fascinating performances and vividly communicating the immediacy of the live experience

Opera on 3: Enescu's Oedipe

Performances & Events

Music: Classical

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04/06/2016

Enescu's Oedipe

BBC Radio 3 - Opera on 3, Enescu's Oedipe

Live from the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, a performance of Enescu's Oedipe.

Live from the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, a rare performance of Enescu's Oedipe. With Johan Reuter, John Tomlinson, Sophie Bevan, Sarah Connolly and Marie-Nicole Lemieux.

Oedipus, the man who unwittingly murdered his father and married his mother is one of the most resonant mythical archetypes of Western culture; and tonight's live relay from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden is an opportunity to hear a rare performance of Romanian composer Georges Enescu's powerful retelling of the story in his opera, Oedipe. Whereas the great dramatists of Ancient Greece focused on specific events in the life of Oedipus, Enescu's opera covers the whole narrative from birth to death. The highly individual musical style combines a rich harmonic idiom with subtle orchestration. The gorgeous, shimmering sounds of the scene with the Sphinx is one of the highlights of the score. This new production from the iconoclastic Catalan company, La Fura dels Baus, is conducted by Leo Hussain with a cast that includes Johan Reuter, John Tomlinson, Sophie Bevan, Sarah Connolly and Marie-Nicole Lemieux.

Presented by Andrew McGregor who is joined by composer and broadcaster William Mival to discuss the opera; including interviews with members of the cast.

7.15pm: Acts I & II

c.8.35pm: Interval 

c.9.05pm: Acts III & IV

Enescu: Oedipe

Oedipe ..... Johan Reuter (tenor)
Tirésias ..... John Tomlinson (bass)
Antigone ..... Sophie Bevan (soprano)
Mérope ..... Claudia Huckle (contralto)
Jocaste ..... Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano)
The sphinx ..... Marie-Nicole Lemieux (contralto)
A shepherd ..... Alan Oke (tenor)
The Theban High Priest ..... Nicolas Courjal (bass)
Laïos ..... Hubert Francis (tenor)
Créon ..... Samuel Youn (bass-baritone)
Phorbas ..... In Sung Sim (bass)
The watcher ..... Stefan Kocan (bass)
Thésée ..... Samuel Dale Johnson (baritone)
Theban woman ..... Lauren Fagan (soprano)

The Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Leo Hussain (conductor)a.

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