Librettist's Introduction
Translating Aeschylus is both a great pleasure and a great challenge. More than the other two great tragedians, Sophocles and Euripides, Aeschylus is renowned for the rich density of his language. Even in antiquity, his unusual way with words was recognized: the comedy Frogs, composed by Aristophanes about a half-century after Aeschylus' death, has the shade of Aeschylus and the shade of Euripides competing in a poetry contest in the underworld. The battle of words climaxes in a scene in which both tragedians recite passages of their plays into a giant scale to test the balance of their poetry, and Aeschylus' offerings are found to be far "weightier" than those of Euripides.
But magnificence of vocabulary and expression does not necessarily lend itself well to modern opera. Although the words provide the plot and sketch the characters, they must above all be singable. They must also be as transparent as the demands of the source poetry permit, so that the members of the audience will be able to enjoy as much of the libretto as possible while they are being swept along by the music. "Transparent" is not the first adjective that comes to mind when one reads Aeschylus, and so I have tried to strike a middle ground with my translation. The images and symbols which recur throughout the Oresteia are not only part and parcel of Aeschylus' artistic thought, but also crucial unifying devices for the drama as a whole. In making cuts in the text, then, I have tried to maintain the progressive recurrences of individual concepts which the composer and I deemed most essential for the plot and most effective for the stage. For example, references to blood and sacrifice have almost inevitably been kept in, even where they may appear to generate "extra" words: they tie together the progressive deaths in the House of Atreus (the children of Thyestes, Iphigeneia, Agamemnon) and call attention to one of the major themes of the Oresteia as a whole, the definition of justice as opposed to blood-vendetta.
For all of the lines that had to be eliminated from Choephoroi to make it into an opera, however, I have still done my best to maintain Aeschylus' own dramatic structure. No scenes or even speeches have changed places, no characters been cut, no choruses removed. The composer and I thought this essential to maintain the accumulation of tension and fear that helps to make this play such a masterpiece. I have also tried, whenever possible, to maintain Aeschylus' own grammatical structure, not adding words that are not recommended by the Greek, nor subtracting words, if at all possible, if I am planning to use a line intact. The occasionally "gratuitous" adjectives and repetitions that remain are evidence of the poet's tapestried style, and I hope to be able to share something of this with those who view this opera.
As a "student" of Aeschylus, I am also a student of those who have worked on him before me, and I must express a great debt above all to the masterful translation of the Oresteia produced by Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones. Although I have also been influenced by other translations (e.g. those of Robert Fagles and H. Weir Smyth), it is that of Lloyd-Jones which guided me through the Oresteia when I first discovered Aeschylus, and which I have continued to use as both aid and inspiration. There are a few moments in this libretto when I could not help reaching the same conclusion about an Aeschylean utterance as Lloyd-Jones did, and I hope that this will be taken as it is sincerely intended: as a compliment.
The numbers in parentheses following the attribution of a singer in the libretto below refer to the lines in the Greek Oxford Classical Text, ed. Page.
(At the tomb of Agamemnon, downstage center from the palace. Orestes approaches the burial marker while his friend Pylades maintains a respectful distance.)
Orestes (1-5, 7, 10-12, 16-21)
You who guide the dead,
who watch over my father’s kingdom,
Hermes, be my savior and my ally now, I pray!
I have returned to this land
to pay honor to my father.
He was slaughtered by a woman’s hand,
through her secret treachery.
Over this mound of his tomb
I call upon him to hear me.
<I have cut> this lock of hair
as an offering of my grief.
(Orestes conspicuously places a lock of hair atop the burial marker, where it remains until Elektra finds it in Scene 3.)
(Elektra and the Chorus appear from the palace, winding their way in slow procession towards the tomb. Several of the women, including Elektra, are carrying vessels from which to pour libations on the grave. Orestes and Pylades are instantly alert.)
What is this I see?
This group of women in their black robes--who can they be?
(He pauses and observes the women’s silent movements.)
For I think my sister Elektra walks with them;
her mournful grief points her out.
O Zeus, grant that I may avenge my father’s fate;
become my willing partner!
Pylades, let us stand aside,
so I may clearly hear these women’s prayers.
(Orestes and Pylades withdraw from the area but remain visible to the audience. Elektra and the Chorus continue in procession towards the tomb of Agamemnon.)
Chorus I
Chorus (22-27, 32-37, 48-53, 75-77, 81-83)
I have come bringing libations;
sent from the house, I beat my breast.
My face is red with bloody tracks,
the new-cut furrows of my nails.
Long since my heart has fed on tears.
Now the dream-prophet of the house,
from deep within, has breathed out wrath from sleep.
In fear he raised a
heavy and sorrowful
within the halls where women dwell.
For what atonement can be found
when blood has fallen to the ground?
Woe for the hearth long lamented,
the overturnings of the house.
Sunless darkness, hateful to men,
shadows the palace of our lords with death.
And all the streams weep from one source,
rushing to cleanse in vain the hand-defiling murder.
The gods brought doom upon my city,
led me from my ancestral home
into a life of slavery.
Still, I cry out beneath my robes
for the vain fortunes of my lords,
frozen with secret grief.
Elektra (84, 86, 88, [93-98], 100-102)
My handmaidens,
servants of our house, counsel me!
How shall I address my father?
Chorus (109)
When you pour the offerings, speak words that help those on your side.
Elektra (110)
Whom should I address?
Chorus (111, 115)
<Pray> first for yourself, then for anyone who hates Aegisthus.
Remember Orestes, even though he is not here.
Elektra (116)
Good.
Chorus (117, 119)
Then remember those who are guilty of the murder.
<Pray> that some avenger, god or man, will come upon them!
Elektra (122)
How can this be pious before the gods?
Chorus (123)
How can it not be <pious> to pay back enemies with evil?
Elektra (124a-126, 130-137, 149)
O greatest herald of those above and those below,
you who guide the dead,
Hermes, give me your aid!
I call upon my father.
‘Have pity on me,
and kindle in our house
Orestes, our beloved light.
We are wandering,
sold by the mother who bore us.
She gained in return
her husband Aegisthus,
who shares the blame for your murder.
I live as a slave;
Orestes is exiled from his inheritance,
while proudly they revel in the fruits of your labors.
Such are my prayers.
I pour these libations.
Chorus (152-3, 160-1)
Send forth a flowing tear, dropped
for our fallen lord.
Let there come a man whose strength is in his spear,
a deliverer for this house.
Elektra (164-6, 168, 174, 176)
By now my father holds the libations that the earth has swallowed up.
But look with me--there is something strange here.
I see a cut lock of hair upon the tomb,
and it looks very similar to my own.
Chorus (177)
Could it not have been a secret gift from Orestes?
Elektra (178)
It does seem very like his hair.
Chorus (179)
But how could he have dared to come here?
Elektra (180, 185-7, 205-206, 211)
He <surely> sent this cut lock for our father’s sake.
Thirsty teardrops fall from my eyes,
a stormy flood that cannot cease,
as I gaze upon this lock of hair.
But here is a second sign: footprints,
ones that look just like my own.
Pain and confusion fill my heart!
(Orestes, having listened carefully to Elektra’s words, steps out from his hiding-place and approaches her. He is wearing or carrying a portion of embroidered cloth made by his sister long ago.)
Orestes (212-13)
Give thanks to the gods who have granted your prayers,
and then pray that the future may also turn out well!
Elektra (214)
What have I been given by the gods?
Orestes (215)
Something you have long been praying for.
Elektra (218)
How have I found that which I sought?
Orestes (219)
I am <Orestes>.
Elektra (220)
Are you weaving some trick about me, stranger?
Orestes (221, 225-231)
Then I conspire against my very self.
Though you gaze on me you do not know me.
You saw this lock of funeral hair;
you tracked my footprints;
your heart leapt when you thought you saw me.
Place this lock of hair where I cut it,
and see how your brother’s head looks like your own.
And look at this cloth, the labor of your hand.
Duet
[Elektra (235-43)
O beloved treasure of your father’s house,
may you regain your father’s throne!
O sweet face that holds four names for me,
Fate makes me call you father <now>;
my mother has my hatred, not my love;
my sister, without mercy, was struck down.
You are my faithful brother.
[Orestes (233-4, 245-6, 252-4, 262-3)
But stay controlled;
do not lose your mind with joy.
I know those closest are our enemies.
May Zeus be present <now>!
O Zeus, gaze upon our trials,
You can see me and Elektra here,
children orphaned of their father,
sharing the same exile from their home.
Redeem our house from its fallen state
although it now lies low.
Chorus (264-5)
O children, preservers of your father’s hearth,
hold quiet, lest someone hear.
Orestes (269-274, 299-304)
The oracle of mighty Apollo will never betray <me>;
he ordered me to travel through this danger,
promised the bitter chill of destruction
if I do not repay those
guilty of my father’s <murder>,
decreed that I should kill them in return.
Scene 4
Kommos
Chorus (306-8, 311-13)
O noble Fates, with Zeus’ aid,
prosper us here where Justice walks.
Orestes (315-18)
O father, unhappy father,
what can I say or do
to reach you in the grave?
Chorus (327-31)
The dead man is wept for;
an avenger comes.
The just outcry
spreads far abroad
and tracks the killer.
Elektra (332-7)
O father, hear now
my tearful cry.
Two children weep
the funeral song
over your tomb.
Orestes (345-8)
O father, would that you had died at
You would have left us
glory in your house.
Elektra (367-71)
Let your killers be slain
so that one far away
may hear of their troubles.
Chorus (376-8)
Beneath the earth
are those who back you.
Those who rule have unclean hands.
Orestes (382-3, 385)
Zeus, Zeus, send up late
vengeance from below.
Parents shall be repaid!
Chorus (386-89)
Let me hymn my mighty song
when the man is struck down
and the woman dead!
Elektra (394-96)
When will Zeus strike them down
and sever their heads?
Chorus (400-2)
Drops of murder flow to earth
and cry for other blood.
Orestes (407-8)
See what is left of our family,
dishonored at home.
Elektra (429-30, 433)
O cruel mother, daring all,
you dared to bury your husband unmourned.
Orestes (435-38)
You will pay for our father’s dishonor,
by the gods,
by my hands.
Once I have killed, let me die!
Chorus (439-40)
She cut him in pieces, too--
she who buried him.
Elektra (444-6)
And I was far off,
in dishonor,
shut away in the depths
like a dog that she hated.
Orestes (456)
I call on you, father; be here with your children!
Elektra (457)
I cry out along with him, lamenting.
Chorus (458-9)
This group cries as one;
hear us and come to the light!
Orestes (479-80)
O father, who died as a king never should,
grant me the power of your house.
Elektra (481-2)
I ask that I may escape
after harming Aegisthus.
Orestes (491)
Remember the bath where you died, father!
Elektra (492)
Remember the trap they invented!
Orestes (493)
You were snared, father, in chains not of bronze.
Elektra (494)
Shamefully, in a crafty shroud!
Orestes (495)
Do these wrongs not move you, father?
Elektra (496)
Will you not raise up your beloved head?
Orestes (497)
Send up Justice for those who love you!
Elektra (500-2)
Hear this last cry, father.
Look on the children who sit by your tomb
and pity the tears of your daughter and son.
(end Kommos)
Chorus (510-13)
You have spoken noble words,
an honor for this unlamented tomb.
And since your minds are set to act,
go, and make trial of the gods.
Orestes (514-16)
It shall be so. But I must ask:
why did <my mother> send these libations?
Why did she pay late honor to incurable pain?
Chorus (523-5)
I know why, for I was there.
Afflicted by dreams and night-wandering terrors,
the godless woman sent these offerings.
Orestes (526)
Did you hear about her dream--can you describe it?
Chorus (527, 529, 531, 533)
She said she seemed to give birth to a serpent.
She laid it down to rest in swaddling clothes, like a baby.
In her dream, she offered it the breast herself.
Along with milk, the serpent sucked a clot of blood.
Orestes (534)
(aside)
This vision might not be in vain!
Chorus (535-9)
Out of her sleep she cried out in terror.
Many torches, burned out in the darkness,
were kindled <anew> for the sake of the queen.
And so she has sent these funeral libations,
seeking a cure to banish her suffering.
Orestes (540-1, 543-50)
I pray upon this earth and on my father’s grave
that this dream turn out well for me!
If the serpent came from the same place I did,
was swaddled <like a child, as I was>,
took in its mouth the breast that nursed me,
and mixed a clot of blood with mother’s milk,
and she cried out in terror at the pain,
then she who nursed the terrible creature
must terribly die. For I will turn into that snake
and kill her, just as this dream decrees.
Chorus (552)
May it be so! Now tell your friends your plans.
Orestes (554-62, 579, 581, 583)
Elektra should go inside.
(to the Chorus)
And I ask that you hide our alliance,
so that those who killed by treachery
may be taken that way too,
as lord Apollo has ordained.
In guise of a foreigner,
I will approach the courtyard gates with my friend, Pylades.
So now, sister, keep careful guard inside the house.
For the rest, I ask <my father Agamemnon> to watch over us.
Chorus II
Chorus (646-51)
The anvil of Justice is set in stone,
and Fate, the worker of swords,
hammers her bronze ahead of time.
The Fury is bringing the child to the house of ancient bloodshed
to redeem the old pollution.
Scene 5
(Orestes and Pylades enter and approach the door of the palace. Orestes knocks.)
Orestes (653-6)
Boy! Hear me knocking at the gate!
Who is inside the house? Boy!
This is the third time I have called
for someone to come out.
Or is Aegisthus unkind to guests?
Slave (657)
All right, I hear you. Where are you from?
Orestes (658-9)
Introduce me to the rulers of this house;
I have come to bring them news.
Let the mistress who puts all things in order come out here,
or the master, which would be even better.
(Klytemnestra appears from the palace. Her feminine modesty is a thin facade. The Slave remains by the door, later to be addressed by Klytemnestra.)
Klytemnestra (668-73)
Strangers, please speak if you require anything.
All seemly things are present in this house:
hot baths, and coverlets that soothe your weariness,
and the presence of just eyes.
If more planning <than this> is needed,
that is a job for men, and I will tell them.
Orestes (674-82)
I am Daulieus, from
As I was traveling to
a man unknown to me, Strophios, the Phocian,
came up and asked my purpose,
<And then he said to me:>
‘If you are going to
remember to tell his parents that Orestes is dead.’
Klytemnestra (691-6)
Ah! We are destroyed!
O curse upon this house,
so hard to grapple with,
how much you see!
From far off you attack with arrows that find all,
and strip me of what I love.
And now Orestes!
Orestes (700-2)
I would rather have been welcomed
by such hosts in return for good news.
Klytemnestra (707-9, 712-14, 716-17)
You still shall not get less than you deserve,
nor be any less welcome in this house.
Another messenger might well have said the same.
(to the Slave)
Bring him to the men’s quarters,
along with his fellow-traveler;
let them have there what is fitting.
I will relate all this to those who rule the house.
(Exeunt into the palace.)
Chorus (722-7, 730)
O noble earth and noble site
which lies atop the body of our king,
hear us now; come to our aid!
It is time now for Persuasion to join in.
It seems this ‘stranger’ is contriving evil!
Scene 6
(The Nurse comes out of the palace and walks slowly downstage, obviously crying.)
Chorus (731-2)
But I see Orestes’ nurse here, weeping.
Where are you going, Kilissa?
Nurse (734-40, 742-3, 748-50, 755-60, 763-5)
The queen told me to call Aegisthus
for those strangers, so he could come
and hear their news as man to man.
She shows the servants sorrow, with sad eyes,
but inside she’s laughing at a job well done.
Everything’s gone wrong now for this house
because of the story the strangers brought.
That man will have a happy heart indeed
when he listens and learns their news.
I bore up beneath all the other evils <here>,
but my sweet Orestes, the labor of my soul--
I raised him once I got him from his mother.
(The Nurse sinks deeply into a reverie.)
Aria
A baby cannot speak, not an infant in swaddling clothes.
A baby cannot say,
‘I am hungry,’ ‘I am thirsty,’ ‘You should change me.’
Its little belly makes its own rules.
I was a prophet for these things,
but I was also often wrong,
and I had to wash baby clothes--
nurse and laundress all at once.
And now I hear <Orestes> is dead--ah, me!
And I am headed for the man who is ruining this house,
And he will be glad to have the news.
Chorus (766, 768)
Does the queen say Aegisthus should come
alone, or with his bodyguard?
Nurse (769)
She says he should bring those who follow him with spears.
Chorus (770-2)
Do not take this message to that hateful despot,
but order him to come alone, so he may listen without fear.
Nurse (774, 776)
Are you certain, after the news that has been told?
Orestes, the hope of this house, is gone.
Chorus (777)
Not at all. Even a prophet without skill could see that.
Nurse (778)
What are you saying? Do you know something else?
Chorus (779)
Go and convey your message; do as you are charged.
Nurse (781)
I am going--may all be well as a gift from the gods!
Chorus III
Chorus (802, 804-6, 807-11, 819, 822-4, 831-4, 836-7)
Hear us, O gods who are our allies!
Wash away with fresh justice
the blood of ancient deeds.
Let aged murder no longer give birth in this house.
O <Apollo> who dwells in the vast cave,
make this man’s house arise!
Make freedom’s light shine upon him
out of her dark veil, with kindly eyes.
And then we shall send forth our glorious song:
‘All is well in our city!’
<Orestes!>
Hold in your heart the courage of Perseus
for those you love here and for those down below.
Act for their sake; wreak your killing destruction,
and cut down the guilty one here in your sight.
Scene 7
(Aegisthus enters. He is alone and unarmed.)
Aegisthus (838-42, 844)
I have come, for I was summoned.
I hear that some strangers have come
to tell news no one wants to hear,
news of the fate of Orestes.
For this house this would be a blood-dripping sorrow.
But how shall I know it is true?
Chorus (848-9)
We heard it, but you go inside;
ask the strangers yourself.
Aegisthus (851-4)
I must see the messenger, question him well.
Was he there himself when Orestes died?
Or is he repeating an uncertain rumor?
No one can trick a mind that is on guard.
(Aegisthus slowly turns and goes into the palace.)
Chorus (859-64, 866-8)
Now the edges of axes, the killers of men,
will take on their pollution.
Either they will destroy this whole house from the root,
or Orestes will kindle the firelight of freedom.
Godlike Orestes now enters the struggle.
May he be victorious!
Aegisthus (869)
(offstage)
E! E! Otototoi!
Chorus (870-4)
Ea, ea mala!
Who wins the contest in the house?
Let us stand clear of what is done;
we must seem blameless of bad deeds.
The end of battle is at hand.
Slave (875, 877-80, 882)
Oimoi!
Our lord has been struck; Aegisthus is dead.
Rise as fast as you can, and let out the women.
We need someone strong here, but not for the dead man.
Iou!
Where is queen Klytemnestra? What is she doing?
(Klytemnestra emerges from the palace.)
Klytemnestra (885)
What is the matter? Why are you shouting?
Slave (886)
I tell you the dead now are killing the living.
Klytemnestra (887-9)
Oi ego!
I see through your riddles; I know what you mean.
I will die now by treachery, just as I killed.
Let someone, quick, fetch me a man-slaying axe!
(The Slave quickly exits into the house, ostensibly to get the axe. A moment later, Orestes emerges, armed and bloodied.)
Orestes (892)
I want you now. This man is finished.
Klytemnestra (893)
Oi ego!
My dearest Aegisthus, lying there dead!
Orestes (894-5)
So you love this man? Then share in his grave!
Klytemnestra (896-8)
Hold back now, my child; have <some> respect for this breast,
at which as a baby you sucked of my milk.
Orestes (899)
Pylades, what shall I do? Shall I shrink from killing my mother?
Pylades (900-2)
Then what of the oracles sent by Apollo?
What of the oaths you took in good faith?
Make all men your enemies, never the gods.
Orestes (903-6)
You have won, you are right!
(to Klytemnestra)
Come with me now; I will kill you on top of him!
While he lived, you preferred him to Father;
now sleep with him dead!
Klytemnestra (908)
I raised you, <my child>; I want to grow old with you.
Orestes (909)
You killed off my father, and you now want to live with me?
Klytemnestra (912)
My child, give some thought to the curse of a parent.
Orestes (913)
<Curse?>
You had me and then threw me out to ill fortune.
Klytemnestra (922)
It seems, O my child, that you will kill your mother.
Orestes (923)
I will not kill you; you will kill yourself.
Klytemnestra (924)
Watch out and keep guard for your mother’s cruel Furies!
Orestes (925)
How shall I avoid those sent by my father?
Klytemnestra (928-9)
Oi ego!
The serpent I bore and raised up is now here!
The fear from my dream was a prophet of doom!
Orestes (930)
Your killing was wrong, and so shall be your death!
(Orestes and Pylades wrestle Klytemnestra into the palace.)
Chorus IV
Chorus (935-9, 942-3, 961-4)
Justice came to the sons of Priam,
punishment with heavy pain,
but a lion came to the house of
twice a lion, twice an Ares!
O raise your cry--the house is free
from evil lords and waste of wealth.
The light is come and clear to see;
the chain is lifted off the house.
Rise up, O house! For too long,
you have lain low upon the ground.
Scene 8
(The ekkyklema rolls out; upon the platform Orestes stands over the bodies of Klytemnestra and Aegisthus. They are entangled in the same netlike robe in which Agamemnon was killed.)
Orestes (972-81, 983-6, 987-90)
Look now on the tyrants of this land,
who slew my father and sacked my wealth.
They were honored then as they held their thrones,
and are lovers still, as their fate betrays.
Together they swore to my father’s death;
together they died, with their vows fulfilled.
Look, too, at this, you who see these crimes,
this trap, my unfortunate father’s snare.
Aria
Hold it out in a circle and stand all around it.
Show off the robe so the Father may see--
our Father, the Sun, who looks down upon all--
the unholy work of my mother towards man.
Let the Sun be my witness with justice in time:
I murdered my mother with all righteous cause.
The fate of Aegisthus I pass by in silence.
He was an adulterer--he got his reward.
Chorus (1007, 1009)
Aiai!
Done in by cruel death!
Suffering blossoms for him who remains!
Orestes (1010-11, 1014-17)
Did she do it or not? Let this robe be my answer,
dyed as it was by the sword of Aegisthus.
My father I honor now, here I lament him,
addressing my words to the robe where he died.
I grieve for my deed, for the pain, for my family;
the curse now is mine in return for my act.
Chorus (1018-20)
Aiai!
No man shall pass a life unharmed,
honored all his days.
One grief comes now, another soon.
Orestes (1021-3, 1026-32, 1034-6, 1038-9, 1042)
Now you must hear: I cannot know the end.
As one who drives horses I veer from the course.
While I am still sane, I declare to my friends
that I killed my mother with justice beside me.
She was a pollution that slew my own father;
she was detestable even to gods.
I claim as the architect of this bold deed
the prophet Apollo, who promised my pardon.
Look at me now: with branch and with crown
I will go to the shrine, to Apollo’s land,
fleeing the <shedding of> kindred blood.
For Apollo bid me approach his hearth.
I am wandering now, an exile from home.
Chorus (1044, 1046-7)
But you acted well--you freed the whole city
from those two snakes when you cut off their heads.
Orestes (1048-50)
(recoiling in response to a vision seen only by him)
Ah!
Fearful women, clad like Gorgons,
blackened robes and snakes for hair!
I cannot stay!
Chorus (1051-2)
What phantoms confuse you, O best of all sons?
Hold your course, have no fear; you have conquered it all!
Orestes (1053-4, 1057-8, 1061-2)
Not the phantoms of my troubles,
but my mother’s maddened Furies!
I see them when you do not!
They drive me out; I cannot stay!
(Orestes runs off into the wings.)
Chorus (1065-76)
Three times now the violent storms
have blown upon the royal house.
Children eaten, wretched burden,
<Thyestes’ feasting> formed the first.
Second came the kingly sufferings,
the lord of ships struck in his bath.
Now the third, Orestes, comes here.
Is he our savior or our doom?
Where the judgement, where the end
when ruin’s power falls to rest?
FINIS