Oedipus Rex

The Argentinean Constanza Macras ventured into new artistic territory with her upcoming production of the operatic oratory Oedipe Roi by Igor Stravinsky and Jean Cocteau. In her version of this modern classic - an opera with a symphony orchestra and chorus - Macras applied tools of modern dance theatre while retaining the original principles of the piece, i.e., rejection of stage realism and psychological interpretation.
In Macras's version, the narrative of the opera was told by eight dancers. She has also re-organized the original two-act opera into five scenes. Each scene resembled a "living portrait", and together, she created a choreographed series of tableaux vivants, inspired by Gregory Crewdson's photographic hyperrealism and Jeff Wall's staged photography. Macras had chosen to keep the Latin song text in Cocteau/Stravinsky's version as it emphasizes the timeless nature of the material.
Oedipus Rex was a co-production by the European Center for the Arts in Hellerau, the Teatro Comunale di Ferrara and the MESS Sarajevo festival.

Artistic director: Constanza Macras (AR)
Musical director: Max Renne
Dramaturge: Carmen Mehnert
Dance: Chiharua Shiota (JP)

Venue and schedule:
European Center for the Arts, Hellerau, 19 - 21 November 2009