The ancient stones of the Greek Theatre in Syracuse once again tremble with the voice of tragedy as visionary director Robert Carsen stages Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus in a powerful and meditative production for the 2025 season of the Istituto Nazionale del Dramma Antico (INDA). Running from May 10 to June 26, this rendition brings renewed vitality to one of the last plays written by Sophocles—a story steeped in exile, forgiveness, and transcendence.
A Director’s Vision Rooted in Purity
Known for his minimalism and visual precision, Carsen strips away artifice to focus on ritual, symbolism, and emotional clarity. Set designer Radu Boruzescu transforms the stage into a serene, terraced landscape that mirrors the natural amphitheater itself. This cohesion blurs the line between performance and environment—audiences are not just spectators but participants in a living myth.
Giuseppe Sartori’s portrayal of Oedipus anchors the production with quiet gravitas. Blind, burdened by fate, yet resolute, he emerges barefoot, guided by Fotinì Peluso’s compassionate Antigone. His journey to Colonus is rendered not just as a flight from the past, but a solemn pilgrimage toward peace and purification.
Choral Power and Visual Poetry
Carsen’s choice to employ two choruses—a male ensemble dressed in stark white suits representing the elders of Colonus, and a verdant-clad sisterhood echoing nature’s presence—elevates the spiritual dimensions of the play. These choruses function both as societal conscience and elemental force, reinforcing the duality of exile and homecoming, rejection and redemption.
Francesco Morosi’s Italian translation, complemented by earpiece-delivered surtitles, maintains the lyrical precision of the original while ensuring accessibility for international audiences.
The Timeless Magic of Syracuse
Performing Sophocles in Syracuse’s 5th-century BC Greek Theatre adds a dimension no stage set could replicate. As twilight falls and the Mediterranean sky darkens behind the actors, Carsen’s vision draws its final, haunting resonance from the stones themselves—witnesses to millennia of drama.
Water basins used for ritual washing, tree branches marking sacred space, and the natural slope of the amphitheatre deepen the sense of spiritual reckoning. Oedipus at Colonus becomes not merely a play, but an act of communal memory and mourning.
A Must-See Event
Running through late June, this production is a centerpiece of Syracuse’s 2025 classical festival. It stands as a bold, emotionally searing reminder of tragedy’s relevance in the modern age.
Tickets and performance details are available through the INDA Foundation.
Experience one of Sophocles’ most profound works brought vividly to life by one of opera and theater’s greatest living directors—under the stars, among the ruins, in the place where tragedy was born.