
Oedipus Rex 1960
Stravinsky transports one of the most ancient stories…
…into a full-fidelity musical interpretation intended to inform the modern age about what it means to be human.
(presented on a double-bill with Gianni Schicchi)
Synopsis
Act I
The basis of tragedy is the depiction of a powerful or happy hero or heroine brought to degradation or death. In Greek tragedy, the reason for this downfall is usually the hero’s sinful pride (hubris). Oedipus Rex is a classic example of this dictum, for Oedipus, King of Thebes, is revealed at the height of his power, arrogant and boasting, at the beginning of the action, and is hurled to the depths as the secrets of his past and the enormity of his crimes are slowly revealed.
The Narrator sets the scene, and comments on the action throughout the opera in the language of the audience. The rest of the text is in Latin. At the opening of the action the Narrator says of Oedipus, “At the moment of his birth a snare was laid for him – you will see the snare closing.”
The men of Thebes lament the plague which is destroying the people of the city, and they petition their king to help them, which he promises to do. Creon, whose sister Jocasta is Oedipus’ wife, enters from Delphi, where he has consulted the oracle. He announces that the late King Laius’ murderer still lives in Thebes unpunished, and this has caused the Gods to send the plague. Oedipus promises that he will find the murderer. He sends for Tiresias, the blind soothsayer, for help.
Tiresias, called by the Narrator ‘the fountain of truth,’ enters, but is strangely reluctant to answer the King’s questions. Taunted by Oedipus, however, the old man finally makes it clear that he will tell everything: the King’s assassin is himself a king! Furious at the implication behind these words, Oedipus accuses Creon and Tiresias of conspiring to oust him from the throne. Attracted by the quarrel, Queen Jocasta enters, and the chorus greets her.
Act II
Jocasta warns her husband and her brother against raising their voices in a quarrel while the city is stricken with plague. Oracles, she continues, often deceive; and points out that an oracle predicted that her former husband, Laius, would be killed by his own son, when, in fact, he was killed by robbers at the cross-roads between Daulia and Delphi. At these words Oedipus is filled with horror, and tells Jocasta that he, while on his way from Corinth to Thebes, killed a stranger at this very cross-road. Jocasta tries to reassure him with little effect.
A messenger steps forward to tell Oedipus that King Polybus, who raised Oedipus, is dead, and it has been revealed that Polybus was not his- father, but had merely adopted Oedipus after he had been found abandoned as a baby on a mountain slope. The shepherd who found the baby corroborates this tale. Overwhelmed by what she has heard, Jocasta hastily leaves, but Oedipus thinks she is merely ashamed of her husband’s lowly birth. The messenger and the shepherd unite with the chorus, however, to accuse the King of the double crime of parricide and incest.
Faced with the evidence, Oedipus, with a quiet dignity, at last admits that this must be the truth. Bowed with the weight of his guilt, he disappears.
The messenger reappears to tell the fate of the stricken pair: Jocasta has hanged herself, and Oedipus has pierced his eyeballs with the golden pin she wore. As the chorus bewails Jocasta’s suicide, the broken King reappears, and the chorus gently bids the sightless man a last farewell.
Artists

Paul Franke
Tenor
Oedipus
Paul Franke
Hometown: Boston, MA
SFO Debut:
Oedipus, Oedipus Rex, 1960
Past Seasons:
Spoletta, Tosca, 1966 (July 2 – 16)
Chaplain, Dialogues of the Carmélites, 1966
Sellem, The Rake’s Progress, 1966
Count Elemer, Arabella, 1965
Fiorello, The Barber of Seville, 1965
Goro, Madame Butterfly, 1965
Don Basilio, The Marriage of Figaro, 1965
Police Commissioner, The Nose, 1965
Coltellino, The Stag King, 1965
Gherardo, Gianni Schicchi, 1964
Alcindoro, La bohème, 1964
La Rainette/Le Theiere, L’enfant et les sortilèges, 1964
The Prince, Lulu, 1964
Don Basilio, The Marriage of Figaro, 1964
Borsa, Rigoletto, 1964
Porcus, Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1962
Hussar, Mavra, 1962
Sellem, The Rake’s Progress, 1962
Herod, Salome, 1962
Spoletta, Tosca, 1962
Marco Palmiere, The Gondoliers, 1960 (August 19)
Sellem, The Rake’s Progress, 1960

Mary MacKenzie
Contralto
Jocasta
Mary MacKenzie
Hometown: New York, NY
SFO Debut:
Jocasta, Oedipus Rex, 1960

Gimi Beni
Bass-baritone
Creon
Gimi Beni
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
SFO Debut:
Grand Inquisitor, The Gondoliers, 1960
Past Seasons:
Billy Jackrabbit, La fanciulla del West, 1991
Morbio, Die schweigsame Frau, 1991
Notary, Der Rosenkavalier, 1989
Le Baron, Chérubin, 1989
Frank, Die Fledermaus, 1988
Prince Yamadori, Madame Butterfly, 1987
Morbio, Die schweigsame Frau, 1987
Ivan Yakovlevich, The Nose, 1987
Frank, Die Fledermaus, 1986
Un Licteur, Orpheus in the Underworld, 1985
Stephano, The Tempest, 1985
Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro, 1970
Trulove, The Rake’s Progress, 1970
Emperor of China, Le Rossignol, 1970
Dr. Turtlespit, Help! Help! The Globolinks, 1970
Prince Yamadori, Madame Butterfly, 1968
Speaker, The Magic Flute, 1968
Dr. Dulcamara, The Elixir of Love, 1968
Benoit/Alcindoro, La bohème, 1967
Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro, 1967
Bartolo, The Barber of Seville, 1967
Fifth Jew, Salome, 1967
Count of Monterone, Rigoletto, 1966
Sacristan, Tosca, 1966
Trulove, The Rake’s Progress, 1966
Don Magnifico, Cinderella, 1966
Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro, 1965
Ivan Yakovlevich, The Nose, 1965
Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro, 1964
Benoit, La bohème, 1964
Simone, Gianni Schicci, 1964
Dr. Goll, Lulu, 1964
Sacristan, Tosca, 1960
Trulove, The Rake’s Progress, 1960
Creon, Oedipus Rex, 1960
Simone, Gianni Schicci, 1960

Andrew Foldi
Bass-baritone
Tiresias
Andrew Foldi
Hometown: Budapest, Hungary
SFO Debut:
Doctor Bartolo, The Barber of Seville, 1957
Past Seasons:
Speaker, The Magic Flute, 1980
A Struggling Soul, Die Jakobsleiter, 1980
Schigolch, Lulu, 1979
Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro, 1976
Schigolch, Lulu, 1974
Baron Ochs, Der Rosenkavalier, 1968
Director, La bohėme, 1964
Baron Ochs, Der Rosenkavalier, 1963
Baron Ochs, Der Rosenkavalier, 1961
Benoit, La bohème, 1961
Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro, 1961
Baron d’Houdoux, News of the Day, 1961
Don Magnifico, Cinderella, 1960
Master Spinelleccio, Gianni Schicci, 1960
Tiresias, Oedipus Rex, 1960
Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro, 1960
Henry VIII, Anna Bolena, 1959
Osmin, Abduction from the Seraglio, 1959
Doctor Bartolo, The Barber of Seville, 1959
Benoit/Alcindoro, La bohème, 1958
Don Alfonso, Così fan tutte, 1958
Pistol, Falstaff, 1958
Don Magnifico, Cinderella, 1958
Uberto, La serva padrona, 1957
Truffaldin. Ariadne auf Naxos, 1957

Rolf Sander
Tenor
Shepherd
Rolf Sander
Hometown: Frankfurt, Germany
SFO Debut:
Bardolf, Falstaff, 1958
Past Seasons:
Valzacchi, Der Rosenkavalier, 1961
Alcindoro, La bohėme, 1961
Basilio, The Marriage of Figaro, 1961
Shepherd, Oedipus Rex, 1961
Gherardo, Gianni Schicchi, 1960
Basilio, The Marriage of Figaro, 1960
Shepherd, Oedipus Rex, 1960
Spoletta, Tosca, 1960
Lord Harvey, Anna Bolena, 1959
Fiorello, The Barber of Seville, 1959
Dr. Blind, Die Fledermaus, 1959
Goro, Madame Butterfly, 1959
Monsieur Taupe, Capriccio, 1958

Therman Bailey
Bass
Messenger
Therman Bailey
Hometown: Detroit, MI
SFO Debut:
First Nazarene, Salome, 1962
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 1960, 1961
Past Seasons:
Dr. Grenvil, La traviata, 1962
Chamberlain, Le Rossignol, 1962
Messenger, Oedipus Rex, 1962
Trulove, The Rake’s Progress, 1962
Colline, La bohėme, 1961
Messenger, Oedipus Rex, 1961
Albert/ Footman, The Ballad of Baby Doe, 1961
Messenger, Oedipus Rex, 1960
Keeper of the Madhouse, The Rake’s Progress, 1960

Paul Horgan
Narrator
Paul Horgan
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
SFO Debut:
Narrator, Oedipus Rex, 1960
Past Seasons:
Narrator, Oedipus Rex, 1961

Igor Stravinsky
Conductor
Igor Stravinsky
Hometown: Lomonosov, Saint Petersburg, Russia
SFO Debut:
Oedipus Rex, 1960
Past Seasons:
Le Rossignol, 1962
Oedipus Rex, 1961 (July 12)
Perséphone, 1961

Hans Busch
Director
Hans Busch
Hometown: Aachen, Germany
SFO Debut:
Gianni Schicchi, 1960
Past Seasons:
Oedipus Rex, 1961
Perséphone, 1961
The Marriage of Figaro, 1961
Der Rosenkavalier, 1961
Oedipus Rex, 1960

Henry Heymann
Designer
Scenery
Henry Heymann
SFO Debut:
The Barber of Seville, 1959 (Scenic Designer)
Past Seasons:
Salome, 1967 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
The Marriage of Figaro, 1967 (Costume Designer)
Don Giovanni, 1966 (Costume Designer)
Rigoletto, 1966 (Costume Designer)
La traviata, 1965 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
The Marriage of Figaro, 1965 (Costume Designer)
La bohème, 1964 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Daphne, 1964 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Gianni Schicchi, 1964 (Costume Designer)
L’enfant et les sortilèges, 1964 (Scenic Designer)
Carmen, 1964 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
The Marriage of Figaro, 1964 (Costume Designer)
Rigoletto, 1964 (Costume Designer)
L’enfant et les sortilèges, 1963 (Scenic Designer)
Le Rossignol, 1963 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1963 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Don Giovanni, 1963 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Die Fledermaus, 1963 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
The Rake’s Progress, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Tosca, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Perséphone, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Oedipus Rex, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Renard, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Mavra, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Le Rossignol, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
La traviata, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Salome, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
News of the Day, 1961 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
The Marriage of Figaro, 1961 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
La bohème, 1961 (Scenic Designer)
Carmen, 1961 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Perséphone, 1961 (Scenic Designer)
Oedipus Rex, 1961 (Scenic Designer)
The Marriage of Figaro, 1960 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Tosca, 1960 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
The Rake’s Progress, 1960 (Scenic Designer)
Oedipus Rex, 1960 (Scenic Designer)
Gianni Schicchi, 1960 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Cinderella, 1960 (Scenic Designer)
La traviata, 1960 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
The Gondoliers, 1960 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Regina, 1959 (Scenic Designer)

Tanya Moiseiwitsch
Costume Designer
Tanya Moiseiwitsch
Hometown: London, United Kingdom
SFO Debut:
Oedipus Rex, 1960
Past Seasons:
Oedipus Rex, 1960

Jacqueline Cundall
Masks Designer
Jacqueline Cundall
SFO Debut:
Oedipus Rex, 1960
Past Seasons:
Oedipus Rex, 1961

Robert L. Benson
Lighting Designer
Robert L. Benson
Hometown: Abilene, TX
SFO Debut:
La bohėme, 1958
Past Seasons:
Carmen, 1961
Der Rosenkavalier, 1961
La bohėme, 1961
The Marriage of Figaro, 1961
News of the Day, 1961
Oedipus Rex, 1961
Perséphone, 1961
The Ballad of Baby Doe, 1961
Cinderella, 1960
Gianni Schicchi, 1960
The Gondoliers, 1960
La traviata, 1960
Oedipus Rex, 1960
The Rake’s Progress, 1960
The Barber of Seville, 1959
Regina, 1959
Oedipus Rex 1960
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