The Burial at Thebes
Encyclopedia
The Burial at Thebes is a play by Irish Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney
, based on the fifth century BC tragedy Antigone
by Sophocles
. It is also an opera by Dominique Le Gendre
The title of the play recalls Antigone
's punishment - to be walled up in a cave - and her crime. Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus
king of Thebes, Greece
, learns that her brothers have killed each other fighting on different sides of a war. Creon
, king of Thebes, buries one of the brothers, but refuses burial to the other 'traitor'. Antigone defies him, and - despite being engaged to Haemon, son of Creon - as a punishment is walled up in a tomb. Creon eventually repents, but by then she has killed herself and is followed in death by Creon's own son and wife, both of whom commit suicide. Creon's isolation is complete and he ends the play a broken and lonely man.
Central to the play are the conflicts between individual freedom and the imposition of restrictions by state.
The play was first produced at the Abbey Theatre
in April 2004 and later adapted as an opera
, which premiered at the Globe Theatre
in London in 2008, with music by Dominique Le Gendre and libretto by Heaney.
It includes a note from the writer comparing Creon
with the war-mongering foreign policies of the Bush administration.
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
, based on the fifth century BC tragedy Antigone
Antigone (Sophocles)
Antigone is a tragedy by Sophocles written in or before 442 BC. Chronologically, it is the third of the three Theban plays but was written first...
by Sophocles
Sophocles
Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...
. It is also an opera by Dominique Le Gendre
The title of the play recalls Antigone
Antigone
In Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Oedipus' mother. The name may be taken to mean "unbending", coming from "anti-" and "-gon / -gony" , but has also been suggested to mean "opposed to motherhood", "in place of a mother", or "anti-generative", based from the root...
's punishment - to be walled up in a cave - and her crime. Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus
Oedipus
Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
king of Thebes, Greece
Thebes, Greece
Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
, learns that her brothers have killed each other fighting on different sides of a war. Creon
Creon
Creon is a figure in Greek mythology best known as the ruler of Thebes in the legend of Oedipus. He had two children with his wife, Eurydice: Megareus and Haemon...
, king of Thebes, buries one of the brothers, but refuses burial to the other 'traitor'. Antigone defies him, and - despite being engaged to Haemon, son of Creon - as a punishment is walled up in a tomb. Creon eventually repents, but by then she has killed herself and is followed in death by Creon's own son and wife, both of whom commit suicide. Creon's isolation is complete and he ends the play a broken and lonely man.
Central to the play are the conflicts between individual freedom and the imposition of restrictions by state.
The play was first produced at the Abbey Theatre
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre , also known as the National Theatre of Ireland , is a theatre located in Dublin, Ireland. The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day...
in April 2004 and later adapted as an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, which premiered at the Globe Theatre
Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
in London in 2008, with music by Dominique Le Gendre and libretto by Heaney.
It includes a note from the writer comparing Creon
Creon
Creon is a figure in Greek mythology best known as the ruler of Thebes in the legend of Oedipus. He had two children with his wife, Eurydice: Megareus and Haemon...
with the war-mongering foreign policies of the Bush administration.
See also
- AntigoneAntigone (Sophocles)Antigone is a tragedy by Sophocles written in or before 442 BC. Chronologically, it is the third of the three Theban plays but was written first...
- Oedipus at ColonusOedipus at ColonusOedipus at Colonus is one of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles...
- Oedipus the KingOedipus the KingOedipus the King , also known by the Latin title Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed c. 429 BCE. It was the second of Sophocles's three Theban plays to be produced, but it comes first in the internal chronology, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone...