Oedipus rex (opera)

Oedipus rex
by Igor Stravinsky
The composer
Description	Opera-oratorio
Librettist	Jean Cocteau
Based on	Sophocles's Oedipus Rex
Premiere	30 May 1927 (1927-05-30) Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt, Paris

Oedipus rex is an opera-oratorio by Igor Stravinsky, scored for orchestra, speaker, soloists, and male chorus. The libretto, based on Sophocles's tragedy, was written by Jean Cocteau in French and then translated by Abbé Jean Daniélou into Latin; the narration, however, is performed in the language of the audience.^[1]

Oedipus rex was written towards the beginning of Stravinsky's neoclassical period, and is considered one of the finest works from this phase of the composer's career. He had considered setting the work in Ancient Greek, but decided ultimately on Latin: in his words "a medium not dead but turned to stone".^[2]