MAY 2023 → Nearly ninety years after its opening in Paris at Opera Garnier, Transylvanian expat pianist Lucian Ban and American violist Mat Maneri present a radical re-imagination of George Enescu’s famous Oedipe opera. To reinvent Oedipe for the 21st century, Ban and Maneri streamlined Enescu’s score for a smaller, more flexible ensemble and knew they needed musical cohorts that would be able to immediately understand the project and bring their own personalities into the music. They recruited trumpeter Ralph Alessi, bassist John Hébert, drummer Tom Rainey, and French clarinetist Louis Sclavis, a legend in the world of contemporary music and improv in Europe. And for the vocal parts, perhaps the most important element of the opera, they invited Jen Shyu and Theo Bleckmann, both brilliant contemporary vocalists, that could handle Enescu’s difficult lines and bring new life to Oedipe Redux. Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri harness the spirit of George Enescu’s masterwork, Oedipe, and channel it into a modern recreation in their own vernacular. Oedipe Redux is a breathtaking retelling, breathing new life into one of the most storied tales of human drama.

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