Barber - Medea's Dance of Vengeance, Op. 23a
April 28, 2024
Shawn Vondran conducts the Symphonic Band in a performance of Samuel Barber’s Medea's Dance of Vengeance, Op. 23a.
About this Work
In a mythology rich in horror and atrocious acts of vengeance, Medea’s revenge was far from the most ghastly. But to modern sensibilities it is gruesome enough that she could murder her own children merely to punish their father, when he deserted her for another woman. Horrified as we are, we are strangely drawn to this personification of destructive hate in the many plays and operas based on her story, from Euripides to Darius Milhaud. Samuel Barber’s version took form originally as a ballet, which premiered in 1946. Two years later, a seven-movement orchestral adaptation of the original score was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. The version performed here is based on a further rescoring of the orchestral suite, which is in one continuous movement. The work depicts the conflicted and troubled Medea as she considers her tender feelings toward her children against her anguish and anger at her husband's betrayal. The work becomes more intense and frenzied while Medea exacts her final revenge against her unfaithful betrothed.