Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex & Les Noces

Less than four years separate the premieres of Les Noces and Oedipus Rex, yet they each represent high-points in two distinct phases of Stravinsky's career.

Although the concept of Les Noces is highly innovative—a 'dance cantata'—the music remains rooted in Russian folk traditions. Choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska and dedicated to Diaghilev, whose Ballet Russes gave the premiere, it marks the crowning glory of Stravinsky's so-called 'second Russian period'.

The opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex is the first great work of Stravinsky's neoclassical period. It was a major change in his compositional style, influenced in part by the loss of 'Russian identity' following his emigration. It is sung in Latin with Jean Cocteau's original French narration spoken here by Gérard Depardieu.

MAR0510  74 minutes 5 seconds
'Gergiev has made it central to his repertoire, and this performance, has idiomatic vocal forces, essential for this fundamentally Russian work … the Mariinsky Chorus and players relish the primi ...
Opera Magazine
'You can actually tell that the language in question in Russian, which is no mean achievement. Marry that with crisp playing from the pianos and percussion, and sensible tempos that offer plenty of ex ...