Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex ~ Salonen

Vinson Cole (Artist), Anne Sofie von Otter (Artist), Simon Estes (Artist), Nicolai Gedda (Artist), Patrice Chéreau (Artist), Igor Stravinsky (Composer), Esa-Pekka Salonen (Conductor), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra &Chorus (Orchestra), Swedish Radio Chorus (Performer), Orphei Drangar (choir) (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Swedish Radio Chorus, Orphei Drangar (choir)
• Orchestra: Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra &Chorus
• Conductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen
• Composer: Igor Stravinsky
• Audio CD (June 30, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000027U0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #164,023 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #19 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Voices > Baritones
  • #31 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Otter, Anne Sophie von
  • #89 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Languages > Russian

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A crisp and lucid recording of a masterpiece, June 29, 2000

By 

Eric Brinkmann (Palo Alto, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex ~ Salonen (Audio CD)

There is not an abundance of modern recordings of this unique work, so I was glad to find one that was as good as this. I came to this piece after falling in love with Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, and I found many of the same things that I loved there in this slightly earlier piece. While I'm not too crazy about Oedipus himself, Anne Sofie van Otter makes a great Jocasta, projecting a very cool image to hide a genuine fear. The demonic mood of "oracula mentitur" is captured especially well. I love the desperation underlying the agressive music.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the Most Definitive 'Oedipus Rex' On Record, September 24, 2005

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex ~ Salonen (Audio CD)

Esa-Pekka Salonen is more attuned to the complexities of this brittle and vibrant Stravinsky oratorio than any other conductor, and despite the fact that this recording dates back to 1992 is still retains the magic he brings to this work. Having heard subsequent performances live of Salonen's way with Oedipus, hearing him grow even more secure with the masses to control, this recording has all of the essentials to make it the choice performance.

The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra may not have the valuable sonic sheen Salonen elicits from the LA Philharmonic, but the playing is responsive and crisp. The cast is superb with Vinson Cole ringingly true as Oedipus and Anne Sofie von Otter as a powerful Jocasta. Patrice Chereau is superb as the Narrator and the cast is rounded out with such luminaries in the opera field as Simon Estes, Nicholai Gedda and Hans Hotter. The choral singing is precise though still in that Swedish manner of straight tone which actually fits this music well.

One can only hope that Salonen will record this work again to demonstrate his current full grasp of a magnificent and too rarely heard Stravinsky masterwork. Grady Harp, September 05

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's getting a little chilly in here., September 3, 2005

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex ~ Salonen (Audio CD)

I've owned a dozen or more versions of Oedipus Rex over the years, and this one still remains on my shelf. I like Salonen's Stravinsky in general. It follows th composer's preference for chilly, precise, detached articulaiton without sentiment. But in this cast the Oedipus, Vinson Cole, sounds overparted, as does the excellent mezzo, Anne Sofie von Otter. Vocally, the parts of Oedipus and Jocasta are as weighty and florid as anything in early Verdi, and here we have lighter voices trying to carry the dramatic thrust but sounding like fairly polite oratorio singers. I imagine that's deliberate, and the result overall is very musical But for me there has to be more fire in the mix, at least as much opera as oratorio.