Médea

ABOUT THE OPERA

Chorus of the National Theatre
Orchestra of the National Theatre

Medea has captivated the attention of many ancient and modern authors - from Euripides through Seneca, Corneille, Grillparzer, Jean Anouilh, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Heiner Müller, to contemporary creators. In the realm of opera as well, numerous works feature this extremely dramatic, tragic, and, due to (or perhaps because of) its cruelty, very human subject. Medea sacrificed everything for her beloved Jason and saved his life many times - all she asks in return is his eternal love. However, Jason desires power more than Medea and chooses another woman who he believes will finally open the path to power for him. Betrayed and seeking revenge, Medea does not hesitate to do what is considered most sacred for all mothers - take the lives of her own children... The final and most tragic part of Medea's long story was also set to music by Luigi Cherubini, an Italian composer who spent much of his life primarily in Paris.

Although his Medea was written in French in 1797 for Paris, in its music we can easily recognize the unmistakable Italian inspiration, and Cherubini's opera is thus actually a direct precursor of later works by Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini. Originally composed with spoken dialogue, which was replaced by sung recitatives after the author's death, the opera gained an even more Italian and in some places already noticeably romantic tone.

The Italian version of Medea, which we will present at the Estates Theatre, dates back only to the early 20th century and was most famously performed on world stages in the 1950s and 1960s by the divine Maria Callas, for whom Medea became one of her iconic roles.