Stravinsky’s opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex was based on Sophocles’ classic tragedy
Oedipus Tyrannus. Jean Cocteau wrote the libretto for Stravinsky in French, the
text was then translated into Latin. Le speaker speaking in the audience’s native
language with a detached voice is added to the opera-oratorio to narrate the events
of the story throughout. With its mixed genres, the juxtaposition of the dead
language and the vernacular, the contrast of the spoken word and the music
performance, and the intertexual references in the music, a strong dialectical
tension is created.
This study is a critical review of the narrative mode of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex.
For a very long time, literature on Oedipus Rex has mainly focused on the
presentation of its music. However, as an opera-oratorio, Oedipus Rex is
composed to stage. This study aims at investigating the theatrical significance of
the work, for its theatrical presentation is influential and profound in 20th century
music theatre. Of particular note is the use of le speaker. The narration inserted in
between each musical episode creates a sense of ambivalence in the storytelling.
The work is therefore a bold challenge to the way stories have been told in theatre
over the past centuries.
The discussion concludes with the analysis of Julie Taymor and Seiji Ozawa’s
film version of Oedipus Rex in 1992. With Japanese elements infused in the work,
the dramatic tension between the spoken word and the music performance is
further polarised. This production is an example of how a combination of the
spoken word and the music performance pushes the Oedipus story further away
from Sophocles’ original. / published_or_final_version / Music / Master / Master of Philosophy
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:HKU/oai:hub.hku.hk:10722/167230 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Chan, Chor-shan, Sharon., 陳楚珊. |
| Publisher | The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) |
| Source Sets | Hong Kong University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | PG_Thesis |
| Source | http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B48199540 |
| Rights | The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works., Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License |
| Relation | HKU Theses Online (HKUTO) |
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