Oedipus Rex
Stravinsky had no time for vulgar Wagnerian drama, and instead sought a more analytical approach to opera. As the language for his setting of the Classical tragedy he chose Latin, which to his mind was free from all that was vulgar. The text of Oedipus Rex is by Jean Cocteau and reflects the atmosphere in 1920s Paris. The premiere of the piece for Clarinet and Orchestra by Esa-Pekka Salonen is an undisputed “event”. Salonen wrote it at the request of the FRSO’s principal clarinettist, Christoffer Sundqvist as an FRSO commission.