1248 Ezra Donner: Antigone, A Chamber Opera in One Act

In this broadcast we are pleased to present a One Act Chamber Opera by Ezra Donner entitled Antigone. Ezra describes this opera in this way: "I have always been attracted to the idea of telling a story through music, and the idea of writing an opera based on a Greek drama has had particular appeal to me for some time. Remembering from music history that opera began as an attempt to imitate the theatre of the Ancient Greeks, I thought it would be an interesting experiment to re-visit an original Greek drama in a musical context closer to our times. The name “Antigone” means “unyielding”. In a way, she is a great role model for artists: a person who challenges the status quo and goes face-to-face against conventional wisdom, holding fast to her own personal beliefs no matter what. In the same way I feel that we as artists need to continue to produce work which we believe has meaning and worth, regardless of reactions from the general public,patrons, and other artists. Although the original drama is now over 2,000 years old, its central themes continue to resonate with us in surprising and meaningful ways. My musical setting attempts to bring together musical styles of centuries past with a contemporary idiom to highlight the timelessness, and timely relevance, of this text." The libretto is adapted from the ancient Greek drama by Sophocles. Sponsors of this show are: La Musica International Chamber Music Festival Southwest Symphony Orchestra Dennis Loeffel - Classical Essentials Flowers.FM - Sponsor of the Wagner Opera Series Book-a-Room Other Links: Advertise on Classical Music Discoveries Become a Friend of Classical Music Discoveries About our Recording Equipment Websites for Musicians Created by Musicians Grocery and Travel Coupons (save thousands of dollars) Have Your Music Played on Classical Music Discoveries Music Store - download music from our shows (without the show dialogues) Classical Essentials - FREE Classical Music (sponsored by Dennis Loeffel)