Medea by Charpentier, M., Dj. 26 Gen. 2017, De (2017/2017), Dirigit per Andreas Homoki, Director musical William Christie, Opernhaus, Zurich, Switzerland

Medee Medea is one of the most fascinating female figures in cultural history - since ancient times she has inspired artists to come up with new interpretations. In his tragedy based on the drama of Euripides, the Roman playwright Seneca portrays her as a demonic wench who, in revenge for Jason's infidelity, murders their children. Marc-Antoine Charpentier's “Tragédie mise en musique”, which was first performed in 1693, also leads to this atrocity; but his title character is drawn more human, more ambivalent. In the century of Descartes Passions of the Soul , Charpentier and his librettist Thomas Corneille designed their Médéethe psychological drama of a tragic heroine who only gradually understands the abysses of Jason's betrayal and finds herself ever more trapped in the hopelessness of her situation. French musical tragedy, born in the age of Louis XIV, is characterized by a declamatory musical language that closely follows the spoken word of tragedy; on the other hand, it was the task of the music theater of that time to serve the wonderful, the supernatural, which is articulated in scenes with stage magic, ballet and choir. The subject matter of Médée, who in her despair conjures up the spirits of the underworld, was ideally suited to this connection between classical tragedy and the realms of the supernatural. Conductor William Christie knows Charpentier's Médée better than anyone else ; he awakened this masterpiece of French baroque from a slumber of almost 300 years and is now taking over the musical direction of our new production. The mezzo-soprano Stéphanie d'Oustrac, currently one of the most important interpreters of French Baroque, sings the title role. Andreas Homoki, who staged Charpentier's opera David et Jonathas at the Aix-en-Provence Festival with William Christie , is directing