In the opera Greek, the ancient myth of Oedipus, who unwittingly slays his father and falls in love with his mother, is transferred to London’s violent East End of the 1980s. At the centre is the young Brit Eddy, a contemporary Oedipus-character: He guides the audience through grotesque situations and absurd dream sequences. On a dystopian journey through a city afflicted by unrest and a “plague”, he tries to get away from both a fateful prophecy and his own family.
Protagonist Eddy is surrounded by three singers who all take on the opera’s various characters. In short episodes, they play Mum, Dad, Wife, Sphinx, police officers and football fans, closing in on the floundering Eddy, who will not manage to escape from the curse that will make him kill his father and love his mother …

Composer Mark-Anthony Turnage wrote the piece in 1988 for Münchner Biennale and demonstrates the full range of his compositional creativity, borrowing from a variety of genres and social milieus: Football chants from Arsenal-fans collide with elements from hip hop and jazz. This production of the Edinburgh International Festival will be newly staged by director Joe Hill-Gibbins and feature the State Opera’s singers.