The Cry of Clytaemnestra

THE CRY OF CLYAETEMNESTRA from John Eaton on Vimeo.

"The opera compresses the events of Aeschylus’s play into a densely woven 80-minute sequence. The story is unfolded through the distorted visions of Clytemnestra (mezzo-soprano), who recalls and anticipates past and future events in dream-like succession....The music of the opera is intensely expressive, reflecting the psychological focus of the dramatic presentation. Scored for a 17-piece chamber orchestra (plus electronic tape), the work employs microtonal tuning in both equal-tempered quarter-tone tuning and, more occasionally, just intonation. Eaton distinguishes the two types for dramatic effect, associating the former with states of extreme psychological conflict and the latter with innocence and purity. Formally the opera is organized around a series of recurring, piercing cries emitted by Clytemnestra as she recalls the dreadful events that have overtaken her life. These provide an important element of musical unity and also serve to articulate the overall shape, punctuating the dramatic continuity; they also undergo transformations that mirror Clytemnestra’s shifting psychological orientation: from anguished horror at the opening in reaction to the sacrifice of her daughter, to ‘pure and terrifying’ exaltation at the end as she prepares for her husband’s return and murder. "  -- Oxford Music Online