Bryn Terfel as Creon

Above: Bryn Terfel as Creon

Spending these long, hot summer afternoons catching up with some DVD-viewing, I finally watched Julie Taymor’s striking production of Stravinsky’s OEDIPUS REX. Visually engrossing in its primitive yet timeless setting and stylized acting and costuming, the performance features powerful vocal performances from Philip Langridge (Oedipus), Jessye Norman (Jocasta), and a particularly vivid Creon played by Bryn Terfel.

Conductor Seiji Ozawa weaves a brilliant orchestral and choral tapestry. Dancer Min Tanaka is a silent manifestation of Oedipus, stripped nearly naked as he departs Thebes, a blinded and vulnerable fallen king.

Bryn Terfel – Respondit deus ~ OEDIPUS REX