Monumental and Hieratic

Igor Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex on a libretto by Jean Cocteau (translated into Latin by Jean Daniélou) is a favorite of Rome audiences. On 27 February 2016, I saw and heard the new production by the National Academy of Santa Cecilia symphonic orchestra. Although this opera-oratorio has not been in the 'seasons' of the Academy since 1999, there were two fully staged productions with sets and costumes in 2005 and 2008, one by the Rome Teatro dell'Opera and the other by the (now dissolved) Orchestra Sinfonica Romana.

The music was composed during 1926-27...