''Edipo Re'' is an opera generally attributed to

Ruggero Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo ( , , ; 23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs throughout his career it is his opera '' Pagliacci'' (1892) that remained hi ...

, although there is some dispute about the authorship. The

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

is by

Giovacchino Forzano Giovacchino Forzano (; 19 November 1884 – 28 October 1970) was an Italian playwright, librettist, stage and film director. A resourceful writer, he authored numerous popular plays and produced opera librettos for most of the major Italian comp ...

. It had its premiere in Chicago in 1920. The opera was published posthumously in 1920 and was completed and orchestrated by . Leoncavallo biographer Konrad Dryden disputes whether Leoncavallo composed the opera at all, stating that "it is extremely doubtful whether ''Edipo Re'', ''Maschera nuda'' or the short operetta ''Il primo bacio'' had anything to do with the composer at all." Other sources continue to attribute it to Leoncavallo with completion by Pennacchio. ''Edipo Re'' was premiered by the

Chicago Opera Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...

in 1920. It had its Italian operatic premiere in 1958, although a performance was broadcast on Italian radio in 1939. The plot of ''Edipo Re'' is based on

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

' ''

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...

'', although the libretto excluded most of the choruses. According to music journalist William Schoelle, the opera contains "a dynamic opening chorus, excellent vocal writing, a major

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

for

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...

, and a sublime love duet whose only disappointing factor is its brevity. Contemporary reviews of the New York premiere in 1921 were less kind. The ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

'' stated that "The music as a whole is declamatory and episodic in its melody. It promises to rise to a fine height in the final utterances of the King's despair, but the promise is not wholly fulfilled. The ''Herald'' went to say that lead singer

Titta Ruffo Titta Ruffo (9 June 1877 – 5 July 1953), born as Ruffo Cafiero (double forename) Titta, was an Italian operatic baritone who had a major international singing career. Known as the "Voce del leone" ("voice of the lion"), he was greatly admi ...

, while "impressive" and well suited to the role, "could not restore to life the tremendous figure of the Oedipus Tyrannus of Sophocles killed by the deadly music of Leoncavallo." The ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

'' said that "Except for the entrance of Jocasta and fugitive lyric moments, which soothe the ears, the music is noisy from beginning to end, lacking in depth, and wholly without distinction." Some of the music for the opera is taken from Leoncavallo's 1904 opera ''

Der Roland von Berlin ''Der Roland von Berlin'' is a historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fict ...

''.

References

{{Oedipus Operas Operas by Ruggero Leoncavallo 1920 operas Operas set in Greece Operas based on works by Sophocles Works based on Oedipus Rex