JOCASTA'S LINE Comes to the Norwegian Opera
Performances run 13 September – 4 October.
By: Stephi Wild Jun. 12, 2025
The pioneering choreographer Sir Wayne McGregor unites classical tragedy, contemporary ballet and modern music in a grand theatrical installation – a world premiere in which the Norwegian National Ballet joins forces with the Norwegian National Opera Chorus.
It is an event in itself when the renowned choreographer and director Sir Wayne McGregor is premiering a new work at the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet. When his brand-new major production takes to the Main Stage, it requires the full efforts of the Norwegian National Ballet, the Norwegian National Opera and the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra.
Jocasta's Line intertwines two Greek tragedies: Oedipus Rex and Antigone. Samy Moussa is composing brand new music for Antigone, while Oedipus Rex will be set to Igor Stravinsky's original score from 1927.
In Greek mythology, Jocasta is the daughter of Menoeceus and queen of Thebes in ancient Greece. When she unwittingly marries the man who turns out to be her son Oedipus, an irreversible misfortune is passed on to the next generation.
Wayne McGregor brings a poignant, modern language of movement to the classic tragedies of Jocasta, Oedipus and their daughter Antigone. This is storytelling through ballet – not as a linear narrative from A to Z, but as a scenic experience in which the singers and dancers reveal their own versions of the truth.
In Oedipus Rex (1927), Stravinsky's monumental opera-oratorio in Latin, the ancient city of Thebes is plagued by disease. The only way to end the suffering is to find and punish the person who murdered the former king.
Under pressure from his desperate subjects, King Oedipus sets out to find the killer. Soon he discovers the horrifying truth: he is guilty of the murder himself and is also married to his own mother.
While Stravinsky's oratorio assigns a key role to the men’s chorus, Canadian composer Samy Moussa favours the women’s chorus in his new composition. His Antigone, sung in ancient Greek, centres on the tragedy of Oedipus' daughter.
With his unique style and collaborations with artists from different fields, Sir Wayne McGregor has pushed the boundaries of contemporary dance and taken it to new heights.
‘The incredible austerity, the unsettling beauty and the explosive energy of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex open up for interpretation through dance,’ says the world-renowned choreographer and director – who has won many prestigious awards for his work.
‘By combining this piece with Samy Moussa's new Antigone for orchestra and female chorus, we are setting a new creative course of inspiration and innovation,’ McGregor adds – ‘a space between the familiar and the unfamiliar, between storytelling and experience, where timeless themes are presented in a modern light.’
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