The opera of King Roger is another good opera put on show during the Edinburgh Festival.
It is written by the Polish composer Karol Szymanowski. Szymanowski’s opera has elements of the classical Greek legend of ‘cult’ god Dionysus, reflected through Nietzschean philosophy.
The opera of King Roger is set in 12th centure Sicily. It explores the cultural crossroads of the time—Byzantine, Arabic, Greek and European.
A mysterious Shepherd is acused of trying to topple the Catholic Church and its authority yet King Roger and his wife Roxanza grant him an audience and offer their friendship. Swept up in his heady teachings the entire court joins him as acolytes. Only King Roger holds back from complete devotion to the charismatic herdsman. Shepherd reveals himself as Dionysus in the last. King Roger alone resists temptation and conquers his own hedonistic impulses, reason triumphing over emotion.
King Roger is a deeply philosophical work. It is one of the great operatic masterpieces of the 20th century and the increasing popularity of it in the 21st century is bringing this opera directly into the mainstream repertoire.