Musical Interpretations of Medea's Myth in the 21 st Century by Andriana Soulele

Abstract

During the first decade of the 2000s, Medea’s myth was revived numerous times on the operatic stage. Among several scenic works, we chose to refer to three French operas which, despite their differences, share some common features: Medee de Thessalonique by Christophe Looten (2001), Medee by Michele Reverdy (2003) and Medea by Pascal Dusapin (2007), a choreographed version of the composer’s opera Medeamaterial (originally written in 1992) by Sasha Waltz. These operas display a contemporary musical expression and they also reveal very different and modern versions of Medea’s myth, associated to actual events, political or not. Each composer’s point of view, their goals and choices concerning the myth’s adaptation, vocal treatment, instrumentation and musical language show not only how intriguing is to represent Medea’s character for an artist, but also how an ancient female archetype can offer countless possibilities for ingenious and powerful operas. As a free and strong immigrant woman, Medea is reflected in a way in the face of modern women, who still fight to find their place in patriarchal societies. As a result, Medea’s myth is present in musical creation of our days and largely contributes to the fact that ancient Greek drama remains an indelible source of inspiration for the French contemporary opera.