FULL ORESTEIA (Xenakis) Rennes 2016 Dionysios Sourbis
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: Oresteia
- Composer: Xenakis Iannis
- Libretto: based on the Oresteia by Aeschylus Libretto Text, Libretto Index
- Venue & Opera Company: Opera de Rennes, France
- Recorded: March 30, 2016
- Type: Staged Opera Live
- Singers: Dionysios Sourbis
- Conductor: Sylvain Blassel
- Orchestra: Ensemble Instrumental du Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Rennes
- Chorus: Maîtrise de Bretagne, Choeur Pro Latio
- Chorus Master: JEAN-MICHEL NOËL, RÉGINE THÉODORESCO
- Stage Director: Sylvain Quiviger
- Costume Designer:
Information about the Recording
- Published by: Opera de Rennes
- Date Published: 2016
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: yessubs, frsubs
- Video Recording from: lairedu.fr FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
Oresteia is a Greek opera by Iannis Xenakis originally composed in 1965 and 1966. The work is based on the Oresteia by Aeschylus. It is written for a chorus and twelve instrumentalists, and runs approximately 50 minutes. Xenakis composed two further movements of the work in the 1980s and 1992.
Orestia begins at the end of the Trojan War with a song from the chorus about the sadness of human fate. Cassandra retells her rejection of Apollo, who punished her by allowing her to see the future but never to be believed by anyone. She goes on to describe the death of Agamemnon at the hands of his wife and her lover, Aegisthus. The chorus proceeds to sing a song mourning his death. Agamemnon’s son, Orestes, vows revenge for his father’s death. Orestes sets off to kill Aegisthus and his mother, and screams from off-stage indicate that he was successful. At Delphi, furies and the chorus realize Orestes’ deed and decry him as a murderer who must be tried by the gods. As the trial of Orestes is held, Athena intervenes instead of allowing him to be convicted. She redefines the purpose of the court as a means of righting and preventing wrongs and persuades the furies to take a new role in human affairs. As the furies enter their new role, a hymn is sung to celebrate the new bond between humans and gods.