SYNOPSIS IN A MINUTE

When the sorceress Medea discovers her husband has taken their children and abandoned her for a king’s daughter, she embarks on a scorched earth quest for vengeance, destroying everything - and everyone - in her way.

FULL SYNOPSIS

 

ACT I

Ancient Corinth. Outside Creonte’s palace on the day before her wedding, Glauce, princess of Corinth, is preparing for her wedding to the hero Giasone. Yet on a day when she should be filled with joy, her overarching emotion is that of fear: For years, Giasone has been in a relationship with the sorceress Medea, the mother of his children. Glauce knows that Medea and Giasone have a long and complicated history—the sorceress used her magic to help him steal the treasure known as the Golden Fleece, murdered her own brother and Giasone’s uncle in her efforts to help him regain his throne, and ultimately accompanied him into exile in Corinth. Aware of this past, Glauce worries that Medea, who is still in love with Giasone, may do something to stop the wedding. Giasone promises Glauce that he no longer has any interest in Medea, and preparations for the wedding feast begin. The celebrations are interrupted when Medea appears and demands that Giasone return to her. Giasone rejects Medea’s pleas, saying that he has chosen Glauce. Medea, hurt and enraged, curses Giasone, calling on the gods of Olympus to help her take revenge.


ACT II

Inside the palace, Medea is still burning with fury over Giasone’s betrayal. Concerned by Medea’s obvious distress, Neris suggests that she leave Corinth. King Creonte arrives, and he, too, asks Medea to leave the city. Medea pleads with Creonte to be allowed just one more day with her children. When Creonte agrees, she seems to calm down, and she even orders Neris to deliver a gown and crown as presents to the bride-to-be. As the wedding procession passes by, however, Medea expresses cruel wishes for the newlyweds.


ACT III

Between the palace and the temple, Medea greets her two children as a dark storm appears in the sky. Suddenly, cries of lamentation issue from the palace: Medea’s presents were soaked in poison, and Glauce has died as a result. As an outraged crowd assembles, Medea, her children, and Neris escape and hide in a nearby temple. When Medea and Neris finally emerge from the temple, the sorceress is holding a bloody knife. Thinking only of hurting Giasone as much as possible, she has murdered her own sons. Giasone, realizing what has happened, collapses in grief. Medea delivers a final curse and sets the temple on fire. Thunder roars and lightning flashes through the sky as the terrified crowd flees the blazing temple.

Luigi Cherubini

Born in Florence, Italy on September 8, 1760;
died in Paris, France on March 15, 1842

Luigi Cherubini was an Italian-born composer who lived most of his adult life in Paris. He skillfully navigated the radically changing tastes in music and politics (the two were often intertwined) in those years: He created operas, chamber music, and religious music depending on the needs of the moment. His Requiem in C minor (1816) to commemorate the execution of King Louis XVI in 1793 is perhaps his most famous work, and in his day, he was greatly admired by Haydn, Beethoven (who considered him the greatest contemporary composer), Rossini, and Chopin.

François-Benoît Hoffman

Born in Nancy, France on July 11, 1760;
died on April 25, 1828

Hoffman was a playwright who later gained fame as a journalist covering topics ranging from music to medicine, provided the opera’s original French libretto. In penning the opera’s text, Hoffman looked to the play Médée by the great tragedian Pierre Corneille (1606–85) and the towering tragedy by Euripides (ca. 480–06 BCE). Bolognese poet, librettist, and early film director Carlo Zangarini (1874–1943) provided the Italian translation for Medea. He also contributed to the libretto for Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West and translated Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande into Italian.