Oedipus Rex

Stravinsky used a text by Cocteau, translated into Latin, for this opera-oratorio which he made deliberately statuesque in effect, its music a whole anthology of neo-classic styles, from Bach and Handel to Gluck. The masked and costumed singers barely move and a narrator explains the action. In this powerful production, recorded live from Amsterdam's Carré Theatre, Bernard Haitink conducts the NOS Men's Choir and the Concertgebouw Orchestra, with Neil Rosenshein and Felicity Palmer in the leading roles. The narration is available in English (Alan Howard), French (Jean Rochefort) and German (Mathieu Carrière).