The lack of regular performances since then is made all too clear when one notes that its first German production came only in 1996 and the first American staging in 2005.Įnescu and his librettist Edmond Fleg based the work on the Theban plays by Sophocles, especially Oedipus Rex, but they departed most tellingly from the Greek originals by covering the whole of Oedipus’s life in their opera, whereas Oedipus Rex, described by Aristotle as the perfect example of a tragedy, takes place within a single day. The choice to return with Œdipe, by Romanian composer George Enescu (1881-1955), makes perfect sense since the work received its world premiere in Paris in 1936. It is always exhilarating to herald the beginning of the operatic season with a new production of a rarely performed work, but when it is the first to be performed at the Opéra National de Paris after a two-year shut-down of theaters and opera houses, the excitement levels are off the scales. Photo © Elisa Haberer/Opéra National de Paris

Laius threatens to kill his baby, Oedipus, while his wife Jocasta lies prostrate at his feet.

Oedipe paris opera pulls together