Vassili Sulich stages Oedipus in Dubrovnik Festival - choreodrama 'Oedipus Rex' - Brief Article

Dance Magazine, August, 1998 by Merry Anne Davis

DUBROVNIK, Croatia--Novelist Thomas Wolfe said that you can't go home again, but Yugoslavian-born choreographer Vassili Sulich proves him wrong by returning to his roots when the Dubrovnik Festival and Croatian National Theatre coproduce his choreodrama Oedipus Rex. The full-evening production is performed August 19 and 20 as part of the annual festival in the Adriatic seaside resort. The work then goes into the repertory of the Croatian National Theatre in the capital city of Zagreb.

Sulich danced in the first Dubrovnik Festival more than fifty years ago and began his classical ballet training in 1948 at the National Theatre. "I'm going back to a house where everything started," says Sulich. "It's very exciting for me."

As the founder and former artistic director of Nevada Dance Theatre, Sulich has lived in Las Vegas for more than thirty years. For the past twenty-five, he has spent his summers at his birthplace, the tiny sun-drenched Adriatic island of Brac, a one-hour boat trip from the mainland. "[The] island is surrounded by the blue Adriatic Sea, pine woods, singing crickets," says Sulich. "[It is the] ideal place to reflect, think, and work on choreography."

Sulich began rehearsals for Oedipus in June in Zagreb. Set to music by Philip Glass and to old Greek songs, the work links dance with Jean Cocteau's play of the same name. The first act uses thirty-five dancers from the National Theatre. In the second act, the dancers become a Greek chorus with the actors. Scenery and costumes are by Croatian designers Nenad Fabijanic and Ike Skomerlj, respectively.

The production is a revival--Sulich created his first Oedipus in Lyons, France, in the 1960s and danced the part of the Sphinx. French actor Jean Marais played the title role, and George Reich danced the part of the young Oedipus. In Dubrovnik, Sulich rechoreographed the work, because the current production has more dancers.

Every night for two months, the Dubrovnik Festival presents programs of dance, music, drama, and folkloric works. The festival setting is idyllic--most performances take place outdoors, in squares and parks, and in the picturesque medieval fortress.