La Philosophie dans le Labyrinthe

CONTENT

Edoardo Sanguineti’s libretto is a convoluted compilation of earlier poems reinvented in the form of its labyrinthine subject. King Minos discusses his labyrinth with his queen Pasiphaë and with its architect, Daedalus. The Minotaur meets a male and a female sacrificial victim. Theseus kills the Minotaur. Each encounter is told and retold on successive levels, laden with innuendo, dream and reality intertwined. La philosophie dans le labyrinthe is scored for virtuoso chamber ensemble, a quartet of singers and three dancers. The music is full of whispered secrets and dizzying spirals, gossamer effects and sybaritic surprises. Cattaneo has an assured sense of architecture, a feel for dramatic pace, fine aesthetic sensibilities and plenty to say.