Oedipe masterpiece staged at Bucharest National Opera on National Culture Day

George Enescu’s masterpiece “Oedipe” signed by Stefano Poda, with Tiberiu Soare as conductor and baritone Ionut Pascu as Oedipe, has been staged at the Bucharest National Opera on Monday, when the National Culture Day was celebrated and also on the 70^th anniversary of the Romanian Opera. The long-awaited performance was a true success, with hundreds of spectators savoring the iconic lyrical tragedy and filling up the Opera Hall. The opera play also enjoyed a high number of youngsters, with students from the music high schools and from the Art University and the Conservatory having free access.

The cast: Ionuţ Pascu (Oedipe), Marius Boloş (Tirésias), Dan Indricău (Créon), Andrei Lazăr (The Shepherd), Ion Dimieru (The High Priest), Leonard Bernad (Phorbas), Damian Vlad (The Guard), Daniel Filipescu (Thésée), Andrei Petre (Laïos), Oana Andra (Jocaste), Sorana Negrea (Sphinx), Daniela Cârstea (Antigone), Andreea Iftimescu (Mérope), Zoica Şohterus (a Theban woman).

Along with director Stefano Poda and conductor Tiberiu Soare, the team that staged Oedipe on the Bucharest National Opera also includes: Paolo Giani (associate director), Silvia Sisto (choreography assistant), Mircea Pădurariu (assistant conductor), Paula Stoica and Claudia Machedon (assistant directors).

In a press conference preceding the performance, baritone Ionut Pascu said it is a special honour and also a great responsibility for him to perform Oedipe. “It is a special honor and a great responsibility. For me, this score managed to open new horizons, both vocal and musical, because Enescu is not limited to notes. He goes much further, reaches the smallest details of the musical dramaturgy, which, fortunately for us, he left written. We only have the mission to decode them, to translate them for the public, which, of course, must come somewhat prepared, to be an active part of this monumental masterpiece”, Ionut Pascu stated.

In his turn, conductor Tiberiu Soare pointed out:

“I don’t need analysis, I don’t need specialists, I don’t need musicologists in sheep’s clothing in the hall. I need people who are interested in what Enescu wrote. And, believe me, we tried with all honesty, all the artists who took part in staging this title, to reproduce exactly what we found in the score. You will find a minimal, if not very small, number of personal interventions. What you will hear is our honest attempt to reproduce what we found within the pages of this sheet music. So I wish this version, this production, long life”.

Attending the press conference and the performance as well, minister of Culture Raluca Turcan hailed the presence of youth at this opera performance, adding that “the doors of cultural institutions should be open to the public and especially to the young generation, because if we shape the young generation, we can hope to reach a Romania where education and culture are the basis of society’s development.”

“Oedipe” by George Enescu is a monumental lyrical tragedy in 4 acts. The libretto of the opera is written in French by Edmond Fleg. Oedipe was composed by Enescu between 1921-1931, being dedicated to his wife, Maria Rosetti-Tescanu. The opera was inspired, in particular, by the tragedy “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles.

At its first performance in 1936 in Paris, Oedipe was considered a turning point in the history of opera. With a complex and imposing score, George Enescu created a musical experience that delighted and challenged the audience in equal measure.