Conference on Oedipus myth slated for October 15-16 in conjunction with opera performance at Krannert Center

A conference entitled, “The Oedipus Myth and its Interpretation,” will be held on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 15-16, in the General Lounge (Room 210) of Illini Union, 1401 W. Green Street, Urbana, on the U. of I. campus.

The conference is taking place in conjunction with the North American premiere performance by the U. of I.’s Sinfonia da Camara of composer Georges Enescu’s opera, “Oedipe,” Saturday, Oct. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Krannert Performing Arts Center.

Conference sessions, which begin at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, are free and open to the public.

The myth of Oedipus is the archetypal story of the man who is both exiled from and unavoidably drawn to his homeland. The relevance of the Oedipus myth continues to be an issue throughout the ages. Oedipus’ situation confronts the fear of meaninglessness, an existential anxiety of the 20th century of living in a world at odds with a sense of order or justice satisfactory to the human psyche. These themes form the basis for the conference presentations.

Presenters include Jeffrey Buller, Dean of Mary Baldwin College; Lowell Edmunds, Professor of Classics at Rutgers University; Jeffrey Mehlman, Professor of French Literature at Boston University; David Sansone, Professor of Classics, UIUC; opera producer and director Andrei Serban; Jon Solomon, Robert D. Novak Chair in Liberal Arts and Sciences and Professor of Classics, UIUC; and composer Sever Tipei, manager of the Computer Music Project of the University of Illinois Experimental Music Studios.
Sponsors for the conference include The Center for Advanced Study (CAS), The Russian and East European Center, and the UIUC departments of Classics and French.

For more information about the conference, contact Sherban Lupu, Associate Professor of Violin in the U. of I. School of Music slupu@uiuc.edu or David Sansone, dsansone@uiuc.edu.

To view the complete conference schedule, see http://www.music.uiuc.edu/sinfonia/oedipus/information.htm

For more about the opera performance on Oct. 15 at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, see: http://www.krannertcenter.com/performances/details.asp?elementID=19513